[f. SNIPE v.]
1. One who snipes, or shoots from concealment, etc.; a sharp-shooter.
1824. E. India Mil. Cal., II. 541. Several sepoys were killed and wounded by the enemy’s snipers.
1897. Daily News, 30 July, 5/2. It is impossible to see the snipers, who generally stalk the sentries from behind stones.
1900. Daily Telegr., 27 Feb., 9/3. The artillery keep the Boer snipers down.
2. A snipe-shooter.
1840. E. Napier, Scenes & Sp. Foreign Lands, II. v. 140. With his brandy flask by his side, and his well filled bag, the sniper still wanders through his old haunts.
3. U.S. A prospector for gold or the like.
1902. U. S. Geol. Surv., Prof. Paper 10, 51. Some unsystematic work [searching for gold] was done during the fall of 1901 by snipers, usually working with rockers.
