[HPforGrownups] Severus Snape's name

[rayheuer3 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 73262

balbu84 at yahoo.fr writes:

> In the OoP, Harry can see Snape's thoughts in the Pensieve. Yet Snape 
> is never called severus but always Snivellus or Snivelly. I am not 
> good enough in english to understand fully what that means. Is 
> Snivellus just a surnam or is that Snape's real first name. And you 
> have you got ideas and possible explanations about this name ??

It's a perjorative nickname, based on Snape's actual "Christian" name of 
Severus.  It comes from the rarely used English word "snivel", which means "to 
speak or act in a whining, sniffling, tearful, or weakly emotional manner".  On 
the rare occasions the word is used, it is almost always used as an adjective, 
"sniveling", most often "sniveling coward".

In making fun of Severus by calling him "Snivellus", James Potter and his 
friends are, in effect, calling Snape cowardly.

  --  Ray
"I laugh in the face of danger.  Then I hide until it goes away."  Xander, 
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"


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