Snowfall
/ˈsnoʊˌfɔːl/noun
Snowfall is the falling of snow from the sky.
Did you know?The first half of snowfall comes from the ancient snow-root *sneygwh-* that also gave English the word sneeze, a weird linguistic echo that may once have been linked to watery, snow-like discharge.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sneygwh-
“to snow; snow”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*snaiwaz
“snow”
Old English
OE
snāw
“snow”
Old English
OE
feallan
“to fall, drop, descend”
Middle English
ME
snow-falle / snow fall
“a fall of snow; the act of snowing”
Modern English
English
snowfall
“snow that falls, or the occurrence of snow falling”