Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†SNABBIE, n. Also snabby. The chaffinch, Fringilla caelebs (Kcb. 1878 Zoologist II. 427; Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 156).
[Orig. uncertain. Phs. a dim. form, with extended meaning, of Snab, n.1, in allusion to the staccato call of the bird.]
