In re-reading one of my Mary Stewart books,
she has one of the characters explain
that they were able to get into a locked house
because the sneck on the window was broken.
This obviously was what I call a latch.
Googling turned up a couple of things, which
confirmed my suspicion that the word was a UK usage.
But--how did it come to be called sneck?
Because of the noise it makes, perhaps?
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ARTFL Project: Webster Dictionary, 1913
New!! Robert Parks and the ARTFL Project are
pleased to release our initial
implementation of the Wordsmyth
English Dictionary-Thesaurus.
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Searching for: "sneck"
Found 2 hit(s).
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Sneck (Page: 1362)
Sneck (?), v. t. [See Snatch.] To fasten by a hatch;
to latch, as a door. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
Sneck up, be silent; shut up; hold your peace.
<-- Obs or archaic? --> Shak.


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Sneck (Page: 1362)
Sneck, n. A door latch. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
Sneck band, a latchstring. Burns. --
Sneck drawer, a latch lifter; a bolt drawer;
hence, a sly person; a cozener; a cheat;
-- called also sneckdraw. --
Sneck drawing, lifting the latch.