From Middle English snow, snaw, from Old English snāw, from Proto-West Germanic *snaiw, from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos, from the root *sneygʷʰ-.

Cognate with Scots snaw, Western Frisian snie, Dutch sneeuw, German Schnee, Danish sne, Norwegian snø, Swedish snö, Icelandic snjór, Latin nix, Russian снег, Ancient Greek νίφα, dialectal Albanian nehë, Sanskrit स्नेह.

The extended senses all trace back to the appearance of the weather phenomenon.

• (British) enPR: snō, IPA: /snəʊ/, [snəʊ̯]
• (America) enPR: snō, IPA: /snoʊ/, [snoʊ̯]

snow

1. (uncountable) The frozen, crystalline state of water that falls as precipitation.
   • 1928, A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner:

     The wind had dropped, and the snow, tired of rushing around in circles trying to catch itself up, now fluttered gently down until it found a place on which to rest.

2. (uncountable) Any similar frozen form of a gas or liquid.
   • 2008, Neal Asher, Alien Archaeology:

     Clad in a coldsuit Jael trudged through a thin layer of CO₂ snow ...

3. (countable) A snowfall; a blanket of frozen, crystalline water.

   We have had several heavy snows this year.

4. (uncountable) A shade of the color white.

    

5. (uncountable) The moving pattern of random dots displayed on a television, etc., when no transmission signal is being received.

   Synonyms: shash#Etymology_2

   Near-synonym: static

6. (uncountable, slang) Cocaine.

   Synonyms: blow, Thesaurus:cocaine

   • 1930, Dorothy L. Sayers, Strong Poison:

     Besides, if it wasn't poison, it might be 'snow' or something.

7. Marine snow.
8. (informal, in the plural) Clipping of snow tire

   better be wearing your snows next week

• French: neige
• German: Schnee
• Italian: neve
• Portuguese: neve
• Russian: снег
• Spanish: nieve

• French: blanc comme neige
• German: schneeweiß
• Portuguese: branco-neve
• Russian: белосне́жный

• French: neige
• German: Schnee, Grieß
• Italian: effetto neve
• Portuguese: chuvisco
• Russian: снег
• Spanish: nieve

• French: neige
• German: Schnee
• Italian: neve
• Portuguese: coca
• Russian: ко́ка
• Spanish: farlopa, nieve, coca

• French: chute de neige
• German: Schneefall
• Italian: nevicata
• Portuguese: nevada
• Russian: снегопа́д
• Spanish: nieves, nevada

snow (snows, present participle snowing; simple past and past participle snowed)

1. (impersonal) To have snow fall from the sky.

   It is snowing.

   It started to snow.

2. (colloquial) To hoodwink someone, especially by presenting confusing information.
   • 1958, Saul Bellow, Henderson the Rain King:

     Having passed them in review, I concluded that the best thing would be to try to snow him a little, so I said that I had heard many marvelous reports about the Wariri.

3. (poker) To bluff in draw poker by refusing to draw any cards.

• French: neiger
• German: schneien
• Italian: nevicare
• Portuguese: nevar
• Russian: снежи́ть
• Spanish: nevar

• Russian: обманывать

From Low German - Snaue, or Dutch snauw, from Low German - Snau ("a snout, a beak").

snow (plural snows)

1. (nautical, historical) A two-masted, square-rigged vessel, trysail-mast stepped immediately abaft the main mast.

1. Surname.