Where does “Schneeschaf” come from?

Schneeschaf (German) comes from German Schnee, from Middle High German snê, from Old High German snēo, from Proto-West Germanic snaiw, from Proto-Germanic snaiwaz, from Proto-Indo-European snóygʷʰos, from Proto-Indo-European sneygʷʰ- — to snow.

Schneeschaf (German): snow sheep, ˈOvis nivicolaˈ

Definitions

  1. snow sheep, ˈOvis nivicolaˈ

Ancestry of “Schneeschaf”, step by step

Schneeschaf traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Schnee

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchneesnow; cocaine
2Middle High Germansnêsnow
3Old High Germansnēosnow
4Proto-West Germanicsnaiwsnow
5Proto-Germanicsnaiwazsnow
6Proto-Indo-Europeansnóygʷʰossnow
7Proto-Indo-Europeansneygʷʰ-to snow

via German schaf

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschafsheep
2Middle High Germanschāfsheep
3Old High Germanscāfsheep
4Proto-West Germanicskāpsheep
5Proto-Germanicskapąshape
6Proto-Germanicskapjanąto make, to create; to shape
7Proto-Indo-Europeanskab-to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sneygʷʰ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European snóygʷʰos →Every word from Proto-Germanic snaiwaz →