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Snob
Definitions
- 1 A person who wishes to be seen as a member of the upper classes and who looks down on those perceived to have inferior or unrefined tastes. derogatory, informal
""How do you do?" said Mabel politely. "No, I'm not from the town. I live at Yalding Towers." The name seemed to impress Mademoiselle very much. Gerald anxiously hoped in his own mind that she was not a snob."
- 2 a person regarded as arrogant and annoying wordnet
- 3 A cobbler or shoemaker. colloquial
"The snobs were also kind to him, and gave him a pair of boots which they assured him were of a type and quality reserved entirely for officers […]"
- 4 A member of the lower classes; a commoner. dated
"'D'ye know a slap-up sort of button, when you see it?' said the youth. 'Don't look at mine, if you ain't a judge, because these lions' heads was made for men of taste: not snobs.'"
- 5 A workman who works for lower wages than his fellows, especially one who will not join a strike (a scab). archaic
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- 6 A townsman, as opposed to a gownsman.
Etymology
Late 18th century dialectal English snob (“cobbler”), of unknown origin. Early senses of the word carried the meaning of "lower status"; it was then used to describe those seeking to imitate those of higher wealth or status. Folk etymology derives it from the Latin phrase sine nobilitate (“without nobility”), but early uses had no connection to this. The modern sense was popularized by William Makepeace Thackeray in The Book of Snobs (1848).
See also for "snob"
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