snow
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snow¹
- /snəʊ̯/ UK
- /snoʊ̯/ US
- /sno/ Scotland
- /snou̯/ Wales
Rhymes with -əʊ
Where it comes from
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”)
noun snows
- 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. Snow is white, / And lieth in the dike. And every man lets it lye.
- An instance of the falling of snow (etymology 1, noun sense 1); a snowfall; also, a snowstorm. We have had several heavy snows this year.
- A period of time when snow falls; a winter. They sang, that by his native bowers / He stood, in the last moon of flowers, / And thirty snows had not yet shed / Their glory on the warrior's head; […]
- An accumulation or spread of snow. VVhen VVinter ſhuts the Seas, and fleecy Snovvs / Make Houſes vvhite, ſhe to the Merchant goes: / Rich Cryſtals of the Rock She takes up there, / Huge Agat Vaſes, and old China VVare: […]
- A dish or component of a dish resembling snow, especially one made by whipping egg whites until creamy. apple snow lemon snow
- The white color of snow. The daughters of the land were beautiful, with blue eyes and fair hair, and bosoms of snow, […]
- Clusters of white flowers. A scent of pine-wood from a tent-like pile of planks outside the open door mingled itself with the scent of the elder-bushes which were spreading their summer snow close to the open window opposite; […]
- 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. Near-synonym: static
- Sea foam; sea spray.
- Also in the plural: white hair on an (older) person's head. Indeed, to the laſt days of her life, my Lady Viſcounteſs had the comfort of fancying herſelf beautiful, and perſiſted in blooming up to the very midſt of winter, painting roſes on her cheeks long after their natural ſeaſon, and attiring herſelf like ſummer though her head was covered with ſnow.
- White marble. Ere now marmoreal floods had spread their couch / Of perdurable snow, or granite wrought / Its skyward impulse from earth's hearth of fire / Up to insanest heights.
- Money, especially silver coins.
- White linen which has been washed.
- Chiefly with a descriptive word: a substance other than water resembling snow when frozen; specifically, frozen carbon dioxide. Clad in a coldsuit Jael trudged through a thin layer of CO₂ snow towards the gates of the Arena.
- Clipping of marine snow (“sinking organic detritus in the ocean”). Lower down, in the 95 per cent of the ocean where light does not penetrate, many living things feed on ‘marine snow’, the steady drizzle of particles of dead matter, whitish in colour, gradually sinking from the euphotic zone above. Other animals then feed on the ‘snow’ eaters.
-
Powder cocaine.
Aren’t I telling you that’s why I didn’t taste it? […] Besides, if it wasn’t poison, it might be ‘snow’ or something.
Similar: blow, nose candy, benzoylmethylecgonine, Bolivian marching powder, booger sugar, boots, California corn flakes, charlie, ching, coke, corinne, crystals
- An opiate powder, whether heroin or morphine.
verb snows · snowing · snowed · snew
- Preceded by the dummy subject it: to have snow (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1) fall from the atmosphere. It is snowing. It started to snow.
- Of a thing: to fall like snow. Time on this Head has ſnovv’d, yet ſtill ’tis borne / Aloft; nor thinks but on another’s Grave.
- To cause (something) to fall like snow. [A]t the ſetting out of a verie ſtatelie tragedie named Dido, wherein the quéenes banket (with Eneas narration of the deſtruction of Troie) was liuelie deſcribed in a marchpaine patterne, there was alſo a goodlie ſight of hunters with full crie of a kennell of hounds, Mercurie and Iris deſcending an
- To cover or scatter (a place or thing) with, or as if with, snow. Even the Horſe wee ride / Vnſhod, would founder, who takes greateſt pride, / When the moſt curb'd, and playing with the bit, / Hee ſnowes the ground [with froth from his mouth], and doth the Spurre forgit.
- To cause (hair) to turn white; also, to cause (someone) to have white hair. Ah, courteous England, thy kinde arms I ſee / VVide-stretched out to ſaue and vvelcom me. / Thou (tender Mother) vvilt not ſuffer Age / To ſnovve my locks in Forrein Pilgrimage: […]
- To convince or hoodwink (someone), especially by presenting confusing information or through flattery. […] I concluded that the best thing would be to try to snow him a little, so I said that I had heard many marvelous reports about the Wariri. As I couldn't think of any details just then, I was just as glad that he didn't ask me to be specific.
- To bluff (an opponent) in draw poker by playing a hand which has no value, or by refusing to draw any cards. [T]he Adventurer knew that despite what [Mike] Caro had said, there was a good chance that he was "snowing" (playing a hand that had no value and could win only if his opponent threw his cards away). Notice that this creates a dilemma for the Adventurer. If he bets and Caro is on a snow, he will los
- To cause (someone) to be under the effect of a drug; to dope, to drug. She looked snowed, weaved around funny, didn't seem to know much what was going on.
adjective
- Done because the alternate outcome is very unlikely to pass.
snow²
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Dutch snauw, snaauw, or Low German snau; further etymology uncertain, possibly from Low German snau (“beak”), related to Middle Low German snute (“snout”) (whence English snout), from Proto-West Germanic *snūt (“snout”), from Proto-Germanic *snūtaz (“snout”), possibly imitative.
noun snows · snaw
- 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. An ESTIMATE made of the Annual Expence of a Snow of 120 Tons, and 48 Men (Officers included) Mounting 12 Carriage Guns, beſides Swivels.
Snow³
proper noun Snows · Snowe
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: snowfall, coke, cocaine, c, hoodwink, bamboozle, cocain, play false, snowpack, ice, snowmelt, snowy, snowman, snow-covered, snowstorm, blizzard
Translations
Every language
noun partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; falling of such flakes; accumulation of them as a white lay
| Español | nieve |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 눈 nun |
| 日本語 | 雪 yuki |
| 中文 | 雪 xuě |
| हिन्दी | बर्फ़ barf, हिमपात himpāt |
| Kiswahili | theluji |
| Português | neve |
| Français | neige |
| Deutsch | Schnee |
| Italiano | neve |
| Ελληνικά | χιόνι chióni |
| Română | zăpadă, nea, omăt |
| Русский | снег sneg |
| Tiếng Việt | tuyết |
| العربية | ثَلْج ṯalj |
| עברית | שֶׁלֶג shéleg |
noun instance of the falling of snow — see also snowfall
| Español | nieves, nevada |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 강설 gangseol |
| 日本語 | 降雪 kōsetsu |
| 中文 | 降雪 jiàngxuě |
| Português | nevada |
| Français | chute de neige |
| Deutsch | Schneefall |
| Italiano | nevicata |
| Ελληνικά | χιονόπτωση chionóptosi, νιφετός nifetós |
| Română | ninsoare, cădere de zăpadă |
| Русский | снегопа́д snegopád |
noun white color of snow
| 한국어 | 설백 seolbaek |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 雪 yuki |
| 中文 | 雪白 xuěbái |
| Português | branco-neve |
| Français | blanc comme neige |
| Deutsch | schneeweiß |
| Русский | белосне́жный belosnéžnyj |
noun 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
| Español | nieve |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 스노우화면 seunouhwamyeon |
| Português | chuvisco |
| Français | neige |
| Deutsch | Schnee, Grieß |
| Italiano | effetto neve |
| Ελληνικά | χιόνι chióni |
| Русский | снег sneg |
verb have snow fall from the atmosphere
| Español | nevar, algaracear |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 눈이 내리다 nuni naerida, 눈이 오다 nuni oda |
| 日本語 | 降雪する kousetsu suru, 雪が降る yuki ga furu |
| 中文 | 下雪 xiàxuě |
| Português | nevar |
| Français | neiger |
| Deutsch | schneien |
| Italiano | nevicare |
| Ελληνικά | χιονίζω chionízo |
| Română | a ninge |
| Русский | снежи́ть snežítʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | có tuyết rơi |
| العربية | أَثْلَجَ ʔaṯlaja |
verb to convince or hoodwink (someone) — see also convince, hoodwink
| Русский | обманывать obmanyvatʹ |
|---|
Talk about this word "snow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/snow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. snow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/snow "snow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/snow.Cite this
@misc{snow_2026,
title = {snow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/snow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
