Snob
/snɒb/noun
A person who admires or imitates people of higher social status, or who looks down on those considered inferior.
Did you know?In early English usage, snob was linked to the lower social classes or to a shoemaker’s apprentice, and only later did it flip into the meaning of someone obsessed with status.
Etymological Timeline
Late 18th Century
English
snob
“A shoemaker or shoemaker's apprentice; later, a person of lower social rank.”
Early 19th Century
English
snob
“A person without social polish or breeding; someone considered socially inferior.”
19th Century
English
snob
“A person who admires social superiors or imitates fashionable society.”
Modern English
English
snob
“A person who looks down on those perceived as lower in status or taste.”