unsnatch

English

Etymology

From un- +‎ snatch.

Verb

unsnatch (third-person singular simple present unsnatches, present participle unsnatching, simple past and past participle unsnatched)

1. To release or let go that which has been snatched or grabbed.
2. To retrieve something that was snatched.
   • 1871, Alfred Henry Alston, William Henry Rosser, R. H. Harris, May (Staff-Commander.), Captain Alston's Seamanship, page 389:

     As soon as the royal sheeve-hole comes below the cap, pass the lizard, securing it with a couple of half hitches, and lower away through lubber's hole; land it on deck with the heel aft, unsnatch the mast-rope. In the mean time, the new mast has been cleared away , laid alongside the old one, and placed on the same slue; so, that directly the mast-rope is unsnatched, it can be snatched again without any deliberation, or fear of mistake; hitch the lizard, and sway away, easing the heel forward with a slip rope.