Why does Plan 9 use "snarf" instead of "copy"?

When you watch presentations about Plan 9 and its acme editor you might notice that the name for _copy_ is _snarf_ (I wasn't able to find any meaningful explanation unfortunately). Why is it so? Is there a reason for that? Was it done to create a unique name for this functionality as _copy_ might not be the best name? --- ###References: - Wikipedia (link) : > Snarf, a term used for the "copy" operation in the Blit and Plan 9 windowing systems. - cat-v.org (link) : > There's another menu available with a mid-click; Cut and Paste are pretty self-explanatory, and Snarf is just the Plan 9 word for Copy. - 9fans mailing list (link) : > > Using either/both acme under Plan 9 and/or Mac OS X via plan9port, is > > there a "file" that can be opened in acme that displays the current > > contents of the acme snarf buffer? > > /dev/snarf So it looks like that there is something like a _snarf buffer_ and a file (obviously there must be a file for that buffer) called /dev/snarf. - 9term manual page (link) : > Characters typed on the keyboard replace the selected text; if this text is not empty, it is placed in a snarf buffer common to all windows but distinct from that of sam(1). > > (...) > > Editing operations are selected from a menu on button 2. The cut operation deletes the selected text from the screen and puts it in the snarf buffer; snarf copies the selected text to the buffer without deleting it; paste replaces the selected text with the contents of the buffer; and send copies the snarf buffer to just after the output point, adding a final newline if missing. Paste will sometimes and send will always place text after the output point; the text so placed will behave exactly as described above. Therefore when pasting text containing newlines after the output point, it may be prudent to turn on hold mode first. - _Exploring Acme_ tutorial (link) : > 'Snarf': called copy in most other editors - dictionary.com definitions of _snarf_ (link) : - > (informal) to eat or drink greedily - > (contemporary) to grab something in greed, esp. without permission - > (Unix) To fetch a file or set of files across a network. See also blast. - Inferno Part 2: Let's Make a Cluster! (link) : > The clipboard is called by the unfortunate name “snarf buffer” in Inferno and Plan 9.