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Webster 1913 Edition

Snow

Snow

,
Noun.
[LG.
snaue
, or D.
snaauw
, from LG.
snau
a snout, a beak.]
(Naut.)
A square-rigged vessel, differing from a brig only in that she has a trysail mast close abaft the mainmast, on which a large trysail is hoisted.

Snow

,
Noun.
[OE.
snow
,
snaw
, AS.
snāw
; akin to D.
sneeuw
, OS. & OHG.
snēo
, G.
schnee
, Icel.
snær
,
snjōr
,
snajār
, Sw.
snö
, Dan.
snee
, Goth.
snaiws
, Lith.
snëgas
, Russ.
snieg’
, Ir. & Gael.
sneachd
, W.
nyf
, L.
nix
,
nivis
, Gr. acc.
νίφα
, also AS.
snīwan
to snow, G.
schneien
, OHG.
snīwan
, Lith.
snigti
, L.
ningit
it snows, Gr.
νίφει
, Zend
snizh
to snow; cf. Skr.
snih
to be wet or sticky. √172.]
1.
Watery particles congealed into white or transparent crystals or flakes in the air, and falling to the earth, exhibiting a great variety of very beautiful and perfect forms.
☞ Snow is often used to form compounds, most of which are of obvious meaning; as, snow-capped, snow-clad, snow-cold, snow-crowned, snow-crust, snow-fed, snow-haired, snowlike, snow-mantled, snow-nodding, snow-wrought, and the like.
2.
Fig.: Something white like snow, as the white color (argent) in heraldry; something which falls in, or as in, flakes.
The field of
snow
with eagle of black therein.
Chaucer.
Red snow
.
See under
Red
.
Snow bunting
.
(Zool.)
See
Snowbird
, 1.
–
Snow cock
(Zool.)
,
the snow pheasant.
–
Snow flea
(Zool.)
,
a small black leaping poduran (
Achorutes nivicola
) often found in winter on the snow in vast numbers.
–
Snow flood
,
a flood from melted snow.
–
Snow flower
(Bot.)
,
the fringe tree.
–
Snow fly
, or
Snow insect
(Zool.)
,
any one of several species of neuropterous insects of the genus
Boreus
. The male has rudimentary wings; the female is wingless. These insects sometimes appear creeping and leaping on the snow in great numbers.
–
Snow gnat
(Zool.)
,
any wingless dipterous insect of the genus
Chionea
found running on snow in winter.
–
Snow goose
(Zool.)
,
any one of several species of arctic geese of the genus
Chen
. The common snow goose (
Chen hyperborea
), common in the Western United States in winter, is white, with the tips of the wings black and legs and bill red. Called also
white brant
,
wavey
, and
Texas goose
. The blue, or blue-winged, snow goose (
Chen coerulescens
) is varied with grayish brown and bluish gray, with the wing quills black and the head and upper part of the neck white. Called also
white head
,
white-headed goose
, and
bald brant
.
–
Snow leopard
(Zool.)
,
the ounce.
–
Snow line
,
lowest limit of perpetual snow. In the Alps this is at an altitude of 9,000 feet, in the Andes, at the equator, 16,000 feet.
–
Snow mouse
(Zool.)
,
a European vole (
Arvicola nivalis
) which inhabits the Alps and other high mountains.
–
Snow pheasant
(Zool.)
,
any one of several species of large, handsome gallinaceous birds of the genus
Tetraogallus
, native of the lofty mountains of Asia. The Himalayn snow pheasant (
Tetraogallus Himalayensis
) in the best-known species. Called also
snow cock
, and
snow chukor
.
–
Snow partridge
.
(Zool.)
See under
Partridge
.
–
Snow pigeon
(Zool.)
,
a pigeon (
Columba leuconota
) native of the Himalaya mountains. Its back, neck, and rump are white, the top of the head and the ear coverts are black.
–
Snow plant
(Bot.)
,
a fleshy parasitic herb (
Sarcodes sanguinea
) growing in the coniferous forests of California. It is all of a bright red color, and is fabled to grow from the snow, through which it sometimes shoots up.

Snow

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Snowed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Snowing
.]
To fall in or as snow; – chiefly used impersonally;
as, it
snows
; it
snowed
yesterday.

Snow

,
Verb.
T.
To scatter like snow; to cover with, or as with, snow.
Donne. Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Snow

SNOW

,
Noun.
[L. nix,nivis; The Latin nivis, is contracted from nigis, like Eng. bow.]
1.
Frozen vapor; watery particles congealed into white crystals in the air, and falling to the earth. When there is no wind, these crystals fall in flakes or unbroken collections, sometimes extremely beautiful.
2.
A vessel equipped with two masts, resembling the main and fore-masts of a ship, and a third small mast just abaft the mainmast, carrying a try-sail.

SNOW

,
Verb.
I.
To fall in snow; as, it snows; it snowed yesterday.

SNOW

,
Verb.
T.
To scatter like snow.

Definition 2024

Snow

Snow

See also: snow

English

Alternative forms

  • Snowe

Proper noun

Snow

  1. A surname​.

snow

snow

See also: Snow

English

Snow-covered road.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: snō, IPA(key): /snəʊ/, [snəʊ̯]
  • (US) enPR: snō, IPA(key): /snoʊ/, [snoʊ̯]
  • Rhymes: -əʊ

Noun

snow ‎(countable and uncountable, plural snows)

  1. (uncountable) The frozen, crystalline state of water that falls as precipitation.
    • 1928, A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner,
      The wind had dropped, and the snow, tired of rushing around in circles trying to catch itself up, now fluttered gently down until it found a place on which to rest.
  2. (uncountable) Any similar frozen form of a gas or liquid.
    • 2008, Neal Asher, "Alien Archaeology"
      Clad in a coldsuit Jael trudged through a thin layer of CO2snow ...
  3. (uncountable) A shade of the color white.
    snow colour:    
  4. (uncountable) The moving pattern of random dots displayed on a television, etc., when no transmission signal is being received.
  5. (uncountable, slang) Cocaine.
  6. (countable) A snowfall; a blanket of frozen, crystalline water.
    We have had several heavy snows this year.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

Snowing, sense 1

snow ‎(third-person singular simple present snows, present participle snowing, simple past snowed or snew, past participle snowed or snown)

  1. (impersonal) To have snow fall from the sky.
    It is snowing.
    It started to snow.
  2. (colloquial) To hoodwink someone, especially by presenting confusing information.
  3. (poker) To bluff in draw poker by refusing to draw any cards.
Derived terms
Translations

References

  • Brunson, Doyle (1978) Super/System: A course in power poker, B&G Publishing Company

See also

Etymology 2

From Low German Snaue, or Dutch snaauw, from Low German Snau ‎(“a snout, a beak”).

Noun

snow ‎(plural snows)

  1. (nautical) A square-rigged vessel, differing from a brig only in that she has a trysail mast close abaft the mainmast, on which a large trysail is hoisted.

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English snow, snaw, from Old English snāw ‎(“snow”), from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz ‎(“snow”), from Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos ‎(“snow”), from the root *sneygʷʰ-.

Cognate with Scots snaw ‎(“snow”), West Frisian snie ‎(“snow”), Dutch sneeuw ‎(“snow”), German Schnee ‎(“snow”), Danish sne ‎(“snow”), Norwegian snø ‎(“snow”), Swedish snö ‎(“snow”), Icelandic snjór ‎(“snow”), Latin nix ‎(“snow”), Russian снег ‎(sneg), Armenian ձյուն ‎(jyun), Ancient Greek νίφα ‎(nípha), dialectal Albanian nehë ‎(“place where the snow melts”).

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