An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/schnöde

by Friedrich Kluge

schnöde, adj, ‘worthless, base, vile, insolent,’ from MidHG. snœde, adj., ‘contemptible, poor, pitiable, trifling, bad, arrogant, ruthless’; in MidHG. the passive sense preponderates, so too in Luther. From the 17th cent. the modern active signification ‘contemptuous’ appears. OHG. *snôdi is not recorded; comp. Du. snood, ‘base, malicious’; OIc. snauðr, ‘poor, needy,’ sneyða, ‘to rob,’ AS. besnyþian, ‘to rob.’ Akin to OIc. snoðenn, ‘thin-haired’; this meaning also belongs to MidHG. snœde, which is therefore identical in form with MidHG. besnoten, ModHG. (dial.) beschnotten, ‘close, sparing.’ The pre-Teut. root snaut. snū̆t, appearing in these cognates, probably meant orig. ‘needy’; it is scarcely connected perhaps with MidHG. and OHG. snûden (see schneuzen), ‘to mock, scorn.’