- sneak (v.)
- 1560 (implied in sneakish), perhaps from some dialectal survival of Middle English sniken "to creep, crawl," related to Old English snican "to desire, reach for sneakily," from Proto-Germanic *sneikanan, which is related to the root of snake (q.v.). Sneak-thief first recorded 1859; sneak-preview is from 1938.
- sneak (n.)
- "a sneaking person," 1640s, from sneak (v.).