snow

Where “snow” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   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.
2. 2
   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.
3. 3
   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.
4. 4
   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.
5. 5
   Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
6. 6
   Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
7. 7
   Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
8. 8
   Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
9. 9
   Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
10. 10
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
11. 11
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
12. 12
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
13. 13
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
14. 14
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
15. 15
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
16. 16
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
17. 17
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.

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 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”)

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: nsow,snnow,snoww,snwo,sonw,ssnow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of snow - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Frequently Asked Questions