Where does “snowmelt” come from?
Snowmelt comes from English snow and Middle English melten, from Old English meltan meaning "to dissolve or liquify," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sneygʰ- and mel- meaning "to flow or melt."
snowmelt (English): Runoff from melting snow
Definitions
- Runoff from melting snow
Ancestry of “snowmelt”, step by step
snowmelt traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English snow
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | snow | The frozen, crystalline state of water that falls... |
| 2 | Middle English | snow | snow; snow-white; The temperature where snow... |
| 3 | Old English | snāw | snow |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | snaiw | snow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | snaiwaz | snow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | snóygʷʰos | snow |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sneygʷʰ- | to snow |