"He's a snob." "She's a snob." We've probably all heard or said this negative word at one time or another. Well, if you're a snob you might have been another definition of the word, depending on history.
Snob means:
1. The word was first used for a shoemaker or cobbler. Are you a cobbler? Snob!
2. It was once used to describe a local town merchant. It was a negative term.
3. It later came to mean a person of low or lower class.
4. It has been conjectured to come from the words "sine nobilitate,' which means "without nobility." Not nobility? Snob!
5. It has also been conjectured that it refers to a person who copies the behavior and mannerisms of upper class society.
All of the above terms probably fall by the wayside nowadays. If you call someone a snob or get called one, it means you're arrogant, aloof, and probably a mean jerk.
Sources: Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Etymology Online
