Where does “שנייעלע” come from?

שנייעלע (Yiddish) comes from Yiddish שניי, 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.

שנייעלע (Yiddish): snowflake

Definitions

  1. snowflake

Ancestry of “שנייעלע”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Yiddishשנייsnow
2Middle High Germansnêsnow
3Old High Germansnēosnow
4Proto-West Germanicsnaiwsnow
5Proto-Germanicsnaiwazsnow
6Proto-Indo-Europeansnóygʷʰossnow
7Proto-Indo-Europeansneygʷʰ-to snow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sneygʷʰ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European snóygʷʰos →Every word from Proto-Germanic snaiwaz →