| snail | 1. <zoology> Any one of numerous species of terrestrial air-breathing gastropods belonging to the genus Helix and many allied genera of the family Helicidae. They are abundant in nearly all parts of the world except the arctic regions, and feed almost entirely on vegetation; a land sanil. Any gastropod having a general resemblance to the true snails, including fresh water and marine species. See Pond snail, under Pond, and Sea snail. 2. Hence, a drone; a slow-moving person or thing. 3. <mechanics> A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a striking clock. 4. A tortoise; in ancient warfare, a movable roof or shed to protect besiegers; a testudo. "They had also all manner of gynes [engines] . . . That needful is [in] taking or sieging of castle or of city, as snails, that was naught else but hollow pavises and targets, under the which men, when they fought, were heled [protected], . . . As the snail is in his house; therefore they cleped them snails." (Vegetius (Trans)) 5. <botany> The pod of the sanil clover. Ear snail, Edible snail, Pond snail, etc. See Ear, Edible, etc. <zoology> Snail borer, a boring univalve mollusk; a drill. <botany> Snail clover See Snail clover, above. Origin: OE. Snaile, AS. Sngel, snegel, sngl; akin to G. Schnecke, OHG. Snecko, Dan. Snegl, Icel. Snigill. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| snail fever | Disease (bilharzia) caused by digenetic trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma, the adults of which live in the urinary or mesenteric blood vessels. Eggs shed by the female worms pass to the outside in the urine or faeces, but many also lodge in and obstruct the blood flow in the liver. Eosinophils seem to be particularly important in the killing of the invasive larval stage (schistosomulum). Evasion of the host's immune response by adult schistosomes seems to involve the acquisition of a coat of host cell surface material by the parasite. (18 Nov 1997) |
| snailfish | <zoology> See Sea snail . Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| snails | Marine, freshwater, or terrestrial mollusks of the class gastropoda. most have an enclosing spiral shell, and several genera harbor parasites pathogenic to man. (12 Dec 1998) |
| glass-snail | <zoology> A small, transparent, land snail, of the genus Vitrina. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| water snail | 1. <zoology> Any aquatic pulmonate gastropod belonging to Planorbis, Limnaea, and allied genera; a pond snail. 2. <mechanics> The Archimedean screw. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| sea snail | <zoology> A small fish of the genus Liparis, having a ventral sucker. It lives among stones and seaweeds. Any small creeping marine gastropod, as the species of Littorina, Natica, etc. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |