An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/schnöde

by Friedrich Kluge

schnöde, adj, ‘worthless, base, vile, insolent,’ from Middle High German snœde, adjective, ‘contemptible, poor, pitiable, trifling, bad, arrogant, ruthless’; in Middle High German the passive sense preponderates, so too in Luther. From the 17th century the modern active signification ‘contemptuous’ appears. Old High German *snôdi is not recorded; compare Dutch snood, ‘base, malicious’; Old Icelandic snauðr, ‘poor, needy,’ sneyða, ‘to rob,’ Anglo-Saxon besnyþian, ‘to rob.’ Akin to Old Icelandic snoðenn, ‘thin-haired’; this meaning also belongs to Middle High German snœde, which is therefore identical in form with Middle High German besnoten, Modern High German (dialectic) beschnotten, ‘close, sparing.’ The pre-Teutonic root snaut. snū̆t, appearing in these cognates, probably meant originally ‘needy’; it is scarcely connected perhaps with Middle High German and Old High German snûden (see schneuzen), ‘to mock, scorn.’