snoop

Where does the word "snoop" come from? It comes from Dutch snoepen, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Snoop’s story begins in Dutch: snoepen meant “to eat sweets in secret.” Meaning "to eat sweets secretly". It reached English by 1800s as snoop. Dutch 'snoepen', to eat sweets on the sly; Snoopy of 'Peanuts' (1950) took the name. Today, snoop means to investigate or pry into someone's private affairs secretly.

1. Stage 1 · Dutch · medieval snoepen "to eat sweets in secret", meaning "to eat sweets secretly".
2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s snoop "to pry into someone's affairs secretly", Dutch 'snoepen', to eat sweets on the sly; Snoopy of 'Peanuts' (1950) took the name.