Snowstorm
/ˈsnoʊ.stɔːrm/noun
A storm involving substantial snowfall, often accompanied by strong winds and reduced visibility.
Did you know?The word combines two Old English weather terms, showing how Germanic languages routinely built vivid compounds instead of borrowing specialized vocabulary.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sniegʷh-
“Snow; the reconstructed Indo-European root behind several words for snow.”
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*snaiwaz
“Snow, the Germanic ancestor of English snow.”
Old English
Old English
snāw
“Snow; frozen precipitation.”
Old English
Old English
storm
“A violent disturbance of the atmosphere, especially strong wind and rain.”
Middle English
English
snow
“Snow; the vowel and spelling gradually developed toward the modern form.”
18th Century
English
snowstorm
“A compound for a storm characterized by heavy snowfall.”
Modern English
English
snowstorm
“A severe weather event involving falling snow, usually with wind and poor visibility.”