Why Snob ?
Sitt—Mr. Harold Nicolson's essay on snobs raises a point that has troubled me for some time. Many years ago, at a pleasant London club dinner, I was seated next to an elderly gentleman of whom I was in con- siderable awe. He was widely travelled, a scholar Of some reputation and a leader-writer for The Times. A discussion grew up on the origin of words, and he told us that the word " snob " came from the old custom at Oxford of entering on the college register, after the entrant's name, s.nob., which stood for senza nobilitii and denoted he was a commoner.
For many years I accepted this explanation without questioning. It sounded plausible. But one day, like Mr. Nicolson, I looked up the word in the O.E.D. and found that "snob" was of ancient origin and denoted a cobbler's apprentice.
Since I cannot think our dinner companion was pulling our legs, I have often wondered what was the basis of his explanation. It would be interesting to know whether any Spectator readers can throw any light on the subject. Is there any record in college registers of the abbreviation s.nob being entered after the name of a commoner, and why was it a contraction of the Italian words when Latin was in such general use?—I
Pion Dei Giullari 50, Florence.
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