Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “snowstorm” come from?

Snowstorm derives from English snow and Middle English storm, with snow tracing to Old English snāw, which developed from Proto-Indo-European sneygʷʰ- meaning to snow or flowing water.

snowstorm (English): Bad weather involving blowing winds and snow, or...

Definitions

  1. Bad weather involving blowing winds and snow, or...

Ancestry of “snowstorm”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsnowThe frozen, crystalline state of water that falls...
2Middle Englishsnowsnow; snow-white; The temperature where snow...
3Old Englishsnāwsnow
4Proto-West Germanicsnaiwsnow
5Proto-Germanicsnaiwazsnow
6Proto-Indo-Europeansnóygʷʰossnow
7Proto-Indo-Europeansneygʷʰ-to snow

Words derived from “snowstorm”

  • snowstormy
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sneygʷʰ- →