snail (n.) Look up snail at Dictionary.com
Old English snægl, from Proto-Germanic *snagilas (cf. Old Saxon snegil, Old Norse snigill, Middle High German snegel, dialectal German Schnegel, Old High German snecko, German Schnecke "snail"), from root *snag-, *sneg- "to crawl" (see snake (n.)). The word essentially is a diminutive form of Old English snaca "snake," literally "creeping thing." Also formerly used of slugs. Symbolic of slowness since at least c.1000; snail's pace is attested from c.1400.