snob

Meaning

Noun

• A person who wishes to be seen as a member of the upper classes and who looks down on those perceived to have inferior or unrefined tastes.
• A cobbler or shoemaker.
• A member of the lower classes; a commoner.
• A workman who works for lower wages than his fellows, or who will not join a strike.
• A townsman, as opposed to a gownsman.

Origin

• Late 18th century dialectal English snob, of unknown origin. Early senses of the word carried the meaning of "lower status;" it was then used to describe those seeking to imitate those of higher wealth or status. Folk etymology derives it from the Latin phrase sine nobilitate, but early uses had no connection to this.
• The modern sense was popularized by William Makepeace Thackeray in The Book of Snobs (1848).