Snowman
/ˈsnoʊ.mæn/noun
A figure, usually shaped like a person, made from packed snow.
Did you know?The snow half comes from an ancient Indo-European root that also gave Latin nix/nivis, so this cheerful winter figure is secretly tied to a very old word family for frozen precipitation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*snéygʷʰ-
“snow, to snow”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*man-
“person, human being”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*snaiwaz
“snow”
Old English
OE
snāw mann
“a man or figure made of snow”
Middle English
ME
snowe man
“a figure made of snow”
Early Modern English
English
snow-man
“a person-shaped figure built from snow”
Modern English
English
snowman
“a snow figure in human form”