Snatch

Jonathan Dishon
ENG 1101
Dr. Hughes
18 September, 2009
After Looking at both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Urban Dictionary, I was able to see many things between the two that were similar. Now while they are similar there are still some differences. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary only has definitions that are agreed upon by a group of scholars and lexicographers, but the Urban Dictionary has definitions that are written by everyday people. The definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary also are more professional and the Urban Dictionary definitions are more obscene and written in the everyday language of the common man.
The word I chose to research in the two dictionaries was “snatch.” The word “snatch” can be used as either a noun or a verb, and according to the Oxford English Dictionary the noun form is defined as a hasty catch or grasp, and the verb form is defined as to make a sudden snap or bite at something. The Oxford definition of snatch is the one that everyone is familiar with, and is the one that is most commonly used. However the Urban Dictionary also has two definitions for the word “snatch.” The first is to take or grasp at suddenly or hastily. This definition does not differ much from the Oxford definition at all so no one would have a problem with this definition, but the second definition from Urban Dictionary might cause some eyebrows to be raised. The second definition for snatch according to Urban Dictionary is and I quote, “the second most horrifying name for a female’s genitalia.” Now many people have probably never heard the word “snatch” used in that manner before, and until last year I had not either. So many people would object to this definition and berate anyone who used it in that way. By looking up the same word in both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Urban Dictionary I was not only able to see how different the two dictionaries were, but also how similar they are in context. So while I would not suggest that someone get their definitions from Urban Dictionary I would suggest that they look at it because it is a good source to compare the definitions of different dictionaries.