snow
Meanings
- The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects as a white layer.
- An instance of the falling of snow (etymology 1, noun sense 1); a snowfall; also, a snowstorm.
- A period of time when snow falls; a winter.
- An accumulation or spread of snow.
- Something resembling snow (etymology 1, noun sense 1) in appearance or color.
- A dish or component of a dish resembling snow, especially one made by whipping egg whites until creamy.
- The white color of snow.
- Clusters of white flowers.
- The moving pattern of random dots seen on a radar or television screen, etc., when no transmission signal is being received or when there is interference.
- Sea foam; sea spray.
- Also in the plural: white hair on an (older) person's head.
- White marble.
- Preceded by the dummy subject it: to have snow (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1) fall from the atmosphere.
- Of a thing: to fall like snow.
- To cause (something) to fall like snow.
- To cover or scatter (a place or thing) with, or as if with, snow.
- To cause (hair) to turn white; also, to cause (someone) to have white hair.
- To convince or hoodwink (someone), especially by presenting confusing information or through flattery.
- To bluff (an opponent) in draw poker by playing a hand which has no value, or by refusing to draw any cards.
- To cause (someone) to be under the effect of a drug; to dope, to drug.
- Done because the alternate outcome is very unlikely to pass.
- A square-rigged sailing vessel similar to a brig formerly used as a warship, with a foremast, a mainmast, and a trysail mast immediately abaft (behind) the mainmast.
- A surname.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English snaw, snou, snow (“snow; accumulation of snow; snowfall; snowstorm; whiteness”), from Old English snāw (“snow”), from Proto-West Germanic *snaiw (“snow”), from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz (“snow”), from Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos (“snow”), from *sneygʷʰ- (“to snow”). The verb is derived from Middle English snouen (“to snow; (figurative) to shower”), from snou, snow (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Displaced Old English snīwan, whence English snew (obsolete). Verb etymology 1, verb sense 2.3.2 (“to convince or hoodwink (someone)”) probably refers to a person being blinded or confused by a snowstorm. The adjective comes from the phrase a snowball's chance in hell, also see snowball clause at Wikipedia. Cognates * Scots snaw (“snow”) * Yola sneew, sneow, snow, snowe (“snow”) * North Frisian Sne, sni, snii, snii'e, snä, snäi (“snow”) * Saterland Frisian Snee (“snow”) * West Frisian snie (“snow”) * Alemannic German schnee, schnei, schnia, schné, schnìj (“snow”) * Bavarian schnea, sghneab (“snow”) * Cimbrian snea, snèa (“snow”) * Dutch snee, sneeuw (“snow”) * German Schnee (“snow”) * Limburgish Schnië, snieë (“snow”) * Luxembourgish Schnéi (“snow”) * Mòcheno schnea (“snow”) * Vilamovian śnej, šnej, śnyi (“snow”) * Yiddish שניי (shney, “snow”) * Danish sne (“snow”) * Elfdalian sniųo (“snow”) * Faroese snjógvur (“snow”) * Icelandic snjár, snjór, snær (“snow”) * Norwegian Bokmål sne, snø (“snow”) * Norwegian Nynorsk snjo, snø (“snow”) * Swedish snö (“snow”) * Gothic 𐍃𐌽𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 (snaiws, “snow”) * Irish sneachta (“snow”) * Manx sniaghtey (“snow”) * Scottish Gaelic sneachd, sneachda (“snow”) * Welsh nyf (“snow”) * Latin nix (“snow”) * Ancient Greek νίψ (níps, “snow”) * Latvian snìegs (“snow”) * Lithuanian sniẽgas (“snow”) * Belarusian, Russian, and Macedonian снег (sneg, “snow”) * Bulgarian сняг (snjag, “snow”) * Czech sníh (“snow”) * Polish śnieg, śmiég (“snow”) * Serbo-Croatian сне̑г, сније̑г, snȇg, snig, snijȇg (“snow”) * Slovak sneh (“snow”) * Slovene sneg (“snow”) * Ukrainian сніг (snih, “snow”) * Shughni жиниҷ (žiniǰ, “snow”) * Avestan 𐬯𐬥𐬀𐬉𐬲𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (snaēžaⁱti, “to snow”) * Sanskrit स्नेह (snéha, “grease, oil”)