snail

views updated May 29 2018

snail / snāl/ • n. a mollusk (class Gastropoda) with a single spiral shell into which the whole body can be withdrawn. ∎  (in metaphorical use) any person or thing that moves exceedingly slowly. DERIVATIVES: snail·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.

snail

views updated Jun 11 2018

snail Terrestrial, marine or freshwater gastropod mollusc. It has a large fleshy foot, antennae on its head, and a coiled protective shell encasing an asymmetric visceral mass. It may breathe through gills (aquatic species) or through a kind of air-breathing lung (terrestrial species), and has a radula – a rasping organ in its mouth. Some species, such as the Roman snail (Helix pomatia), are edible. Length: to 35cm (14in). Class Gastropoda.

snail

views updated Jun 11 2018

snail OE. snæġ(e)l sneġ(e)l = OS. snegil, MLG. sneil, OHG. snegil (LG. snagel), ON. snigill, f. Gmc. *snaʒ-; *sneʒ-; cf. -LE1.

snail

views updated May 23 2018

snail used in reference to something very slow.
snail mail the ordinary postal system as opposed to electronic mail; the term is recorded from the first half of the 1980s.

snail

views updated May 11 2018

snail The small snail eaten in Europe is Helix pomatia; the giant African snail (which weighs several hundred grams) is Achatima fulica.

Snail

views updated May 29 2018

Snail

Military, a D-shaped formation, 1579.