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Origin and history of snark

snark(n.)

1876 as the name of an imaginary animal, coined by "Lewis Carroll" in "The Hunting of the Snark." In 1950s, it was the name given to a type of U.S. cruise missile, and in 1980s to a type of sailboat. The meaning "caustic, opinionated, and critical rhetoric" is by c. 2002, probably from snarky and not directly related, if at all, to Carroll's use of snark.

also from 1876

Entries linking to snark

snarky(adj.)

"irritable, short-tempered," by 1901, from snark (v.) "find fault with, nag" (1882), literally "to snort" (1866), which is from an imitative source. Compare Low German snarken, North Frisian snarke, Swedish snarka; also compare snarl (v.2) and sneer (v.).

The people like a cheerful prophet. The people will feel for [sic] more kindly toward the Ford county prophet who says there will be green grass in October than they would toward some snarky pessimist with a claim about early frost, and short-lived pastures. [Topeka (Kansas) Daily Capital, Aug. 14, 1901]

Also compare narky "bad-tempered, sarcastic" (1895), British slang from earlier nark "annoying, quarrelsome, or unpleasant person" (1846), from nark (q.v.).

It seems to have emerged anew as a vogue word c. 1997 to indicate " said or written in a hostile, knowing, bitter tone of contempt." The back-formation snark (n.) "caustic, opinionated, and critical rhetoric" is by c. 2002. Related: Snarkily; snarkiness.

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    Trends of snark

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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