Word Origin & History
snow (n.)
O.E. snaw "snow," from P.Gmc. *snaiwaz (cf. O.S., O.H.G. sneo, O.Fris., M.L.G. sne, M.Du. snee, Du. sneeuw, Ger. Schnee, O.N. snjor, Goth. snaiws "snow"), from PIE *sniegwh-/*snoigwho- (cf. Gk. nipha, L. nix (gen. nivis), O.Ir. snechta, Welsh nyf, Lith. sniegas, O.Prus. snaygis, O.C.S. snegu, Rus. snieg', Slovak sneh "snow"). The cognate in Skt., snihyati, came to mean "he gets wet." As slang for "cocaine" it is attested from 1914. Snowshoe first recorded 1674; snowflake is 1734; snowplow is from 1792, first mentioned in a New Hampshire context; snowman is from 1827; snowmobile first attested 1931, in ref. to Admiral Byrd's expedition.