The Origins of the Word “Snob”

Have you ever quietly judged a snob?

Someone abiding by designer trends, and shivering at the glance of fast fashion. Someone with an educated ear for music who criticizes those with no taste. Or who sends back countless bottles of wine at a restaurant until finally detecting the most refined one, with their impeccable nose.

Or maybe you yourself have been called out for acting like a snob...

Be it their etiquette, their appearance, their taste or their sophistication, the idea is that a snob sees themselves as upper-class level superior. In reality, to be a snob, it is enough to believe you are better than someone in whatever area, for whatever reason. You are socially exclusive to a higher level than others.

At least this is how we view snobs nowadays. But where did the term really come from?

Some people believe that the word snob came from the letters “s. nob.” abbreviated from the Latin “sine nobilitate” (without nobility), which, in certain English schools, was located after the names of students whose parents had no title. Although this train of thought makes logical sense, it is not actually where the word came from...

In fact, the first definition of the word snob had nothing to do with a social class at all. In the mid-18th century, when the word was first used, it meant, quite simply, a shoemaker, or a cobbler.

After that, there is evidence in the Oxford English Dictionary that it began to be used as slang in Cambridge to describe townspeople or those who didn't attend the University. At this point, the word began to acquire a relation to social class, but still, very different from how we use it now. It was solely used to describe those who did not belong to an upper class or were not aristocratic.

Fast-forward to the 19th century, William Thackeray's "Book of Snobs" promoted an additional meaning to the word: those who seek to imitate and be associated with those they consider to be superior. So in addition to being of lower social standing, a snob was now also someone who strived to be affiliated to or regarded with, the upper-class. This brings us one step closer to what we now consider to be a snob...

Come the 20th century, yet another layer was added to the word, arriving on the meaning we now use:

“One who tends to rebuff the advances of those he regards as inferior; one inclined to social exclusiveness.” - Merriam-Webster Dictionary

So in addition to being of a lower social class, and seeking to be associated with the upper class, snobs also have the quality of regarding others as inferior, to further emphasize their exclusivity to a higher class. In other words, someone who appears to be trying very hard to climb up the social ladder and be seen as superior.

Thus the humble snob who was once only concerned with shoemaking and tending to their craft is nothing like the snob we know now. Far from humble, the 21st-century snob is quite egocentric, concerned with their image and being of a higher quality than their inferiors. Unless they work as a designer at a boutique, you won't spot them making shoes, however, you may likely find them collecting shoes as a symbol of their refined taste and superiority.

It is funny how a word can evolve into something quite contrary to its initial intention through time. Essentially, meanings come and go, and they depend on the people that come and go with them.

Who knows, maybe in the 22nd century, a snob will be a shoemaker again. But this time maybe the shoes will be aerodynamically designed by engineers for flying... Maybe the whole notion of who belongs to which social class will be different. We never know...