Old English wuducoc, from wudu (see wood (n.)) + coc (see cock (n.1)).

a name of various small, long-billed marsh birds, early 14c., from Old Norse -snipa in myrisnipa "moor snipe;" perhaps a common Germanic term (compare Old Saxon sneppa, Middle Dutch snippe, Dutch snip, Old High German snepfa, German Schnepfe "snipe," Swedish snäppa "sandpiper"), perhaps originally "snipper" (and so called for its long, straight bill). The Old English name was snite, which is of uncertain derivation. An opprobrious term (see guttersnipe) since c. 1600.

"shoot ar (men) one by one at long range from a hidden place," 1773 (among British soldiers in India), in reference to hunting snipe as game, from snipe (n.). Compare sniper. The figurative use is by 1892. Related: Sniped; sniping.

"spaniel dog trained to start woodcock and snipe in woods and marshes," 1811, from cock (n.1).

also gutter-snipe, 1857, from gutter (n.) + snipe (n.); originally Wall Street slang for "streetcorner broker," attested later (1869) as "street urchin," also "one who gathers rags and paper from gutters." As a name for the common snipe, it dates from 1874 but is perhaps earlier.

"concealed sharpshooter; one who shoots from a hidden place," 1824, agent noun from snipe (v.). The birds were considered a challenging target for an expert shooter:

Snipe Shooting is a good trial of the gunner's skill, who often engages in this diversion, without the assistance of a dog of any kind; a steady pointer, however, is a good companion. [Sportsman's Calendar, London, December 1818]