See Also: Snow(medicine)
snow pea(dictionary)
snow(encyclopedia)
snow day(dictionary)
snow(2)(dictionary)
snow(1)(dictionary)
snow job(dictionary)
snow (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
snow leopard(encyclopedia)
Snow - Poker(gambling)

snow(1) (iou)



snow noun1. Also (Scot. & north.) snaw.

I.
The frozen moisture of the atmosphere, composed of minute hexagonal ice crystals and usu. aggregated in feathery white flakes; the fall of such flakes. Also, a layer formed by such flakes on the ground. OE.
Shelley Some, whose white hair shone Like mountain snow. Anne Stevenson Distant moors..covered by pure untroubled snow.
b. The pure white colour of snow; whiteness. Chiefly poet. OE.
Sir W. Scott Daughters..with..fair hair, and bosoms of snow.
a. A fall of snow; a snowstorm. OE.
H. Norman The first snows each autumn.
b. A period of time consisting of one winter. Also, a year. Chiefly poet. or (freq. joc.) in representations of N. American Indian speech. L18.
R. Wiebe It was the most successful raid they had had for many snows.
a. A mass or expanse of snow. Usu. in pl. LME.
R. Fisk Along the..frontier from the sea to the snows of Hermon.
b. In pl. The regions of perpetual snow; the Arctic regions. rare. M19.
= snow tyre below. N. Amer. M20.
II. A thing resembling snow.
Any of various substances having the colour or appearance of snow; spec. (a) a dessert resembling snow in appearance, made with whipped egg-white; (b) Chemistry any of various solids, esp. frozen gases, that resemble snow; esp. solid carbon dioxide; (c) slang (orig. US) cocaine, heroin. L16.
L. Cody You can get a fair stretch for dealing snow.
a. White hair. Chiefly poet. E17.
b. White blossom. Also, spray, foam. M19.
a. Clean linen. slang (now rare). E19.
Household Words Lifting snow from some railings, where it was hanging to dry.
b. (Silver) money. slang. E20.
Spots that appear as a flickering mass on a television or radar screen, caused by interference or poor signal reception. M20.
Phrases etc.: old snow: see OLD adjective. red snow: see RED adjective. snow-in-summer any of several white-tomentose summer-flowering plants grown for ornament, esp. Cerastium tomentosum, a southern European plant of the pink family, and Helichrysum rosmarinifolium, an Australian everlasting. snow-on-the-mountain (a) US an annual spurge, Euphorbia marginata, with white-bordered bracts; (b) dial. any of several low white-flowered cruciferous garden plants, esp. Arabis caucasica and sweet alyssum, Lobularia maritima.
Attrib. & comb.: In the sense 'consisting of or covered in snow', as snow-bank, snowcap, snow-cloud, etc.; 'used in connection with snow', as snow buggy, snow fence, snow goggles, snow tractor, etc. Special combs., as snow bear a brown bear of a race found in the Kashmir area; snowbell any of various plants with white bell-shaped flowers; spec. an Asian storax tree, Styrax japonica, bearing clusters of fragrant white hanging flowers at midsummer; snow-belt US a region subject to heavy snowfalls; snowberry any of various shrubs bearing white berries or similar fruit; esp. (a) a N. American shrub, Symphoricarpos albus, commonly grown in shrubberies; (b) creeping snowberry, a trailing N. American shrub of the heath family, Gaultheria hispidula, of woods and bogs; snow-blink a white reflection in the sky of lying snow; snowblower a machine that clears snow from a road etc. by blowing it to the side; snow-break (a) the breaking of trees or branches by the weight of snow; an area over which this has occurred; (b) a strip of trees or fencing serving as a protection against snow; snow-broth melted snow; snow bunny N. Amer. slang an inexperienced (esp. female) skier; snow bunting a holarctic bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, the male of which has predominantly white plumage, breeding in rocky areas on mountains or near Arctic coasts; snow-camel the Bactrian camel; snow cannon a machine which makes artificial snow and blows it on to ski slopes; snowcap (a) the top of a mountain when covered with snow; (b) a white-crowned hummingbird, Microchera albocoronata, native to Central America; snowcapped adjective (esp. of a mountain) topped with snow; snow chains: fitted around a vehicle's tyres to give extra grip in snow; snow-clad adjective covered with snow; snowcock any of several large partridges of the genus Tetraogallus, found at high altitudes from Iran to western China; snow-cold adjective as cold as snow; snow-cone US a paper cup of crushed ice flavoured with fruit syrup; snow course a line along which the depth of snow is periodically measured at fixed points; snow crab either of two edible spider crabs, (a) Chionoecetes opilio, found off eastern Canadian coasts, (b) a giant white deep-sea species found off northern Australia; snow-craft skill in moving over or dealing with snow in mountaineering; snow-creep the gradual movement of snow down a slope; snow cruiser N. Amer. a motor vehicle designed to travel over snow; spec. (with cap. initials) (Canadian proprietary name for) a motorized toboggan; snow devil a column of snow whirled round by the wind; snowdrift a bank of snow heaped up by the action of the wind; snow-dropper slang a person who steals clothes from washing-lines, esp. a man who steals women's underwear; snow-dropping slang the action of stealing clothes from washing-lines; snow-eater Meteorology [translating German Schneefresser] a warm wind, esp. a Chinook, that causes rapid melting of snow; snowfall a fall of snow; a quantity of snow falling at a certain time or place; snowfield an expanse of snow; snow finch any of several Eurasian montane sparrows of the genus Montifringilla, esp. M. nivalis, which has a grey head, black throat, and mainly white wings, and is found from the Pyrenees to western China; snow flea (a) any of several vestigial-winged scorpion flies of the family Boreidae, resembling ants and found on moss in boreal regions, esp. Boreus hyemalis of Eurasia; (b) any of several small dark springtails that swarm on snow, esp. Isotoma saltans of the Alps and Hypogastrura nivicola of N. America; snow-fleck the snow bunting (cf. SNOWFLAKE 2); snow-fly, snow-gnat any of several insects found frequently on snow; esp. a wingless crane-fly of the genus Chionea; snow goose a N. American goose, Anser caerulescens, which has all-white plumage with black primaries and breeds near Arctic coasts; snow grain Meteorology a small opaque precipitated ice particle, usu. flattened and less than 1 mm in diameter, that does not bounce on a hard surface (cf. snow pellet below); snow-grass any of several coarse upland grasses; esp. (NZ) Danthonia raoulii (see DANTHONIA); snow-grouse the ptarmigan; snow gum a eucalyptus, Eucalyptus niphophila, with white bark and glaucous leaves, native to high regions of New South Wales, Australia; snow gun = snow cannon above; snow-hole: in snow used as a temporary shelter; snow-ice opaque white ice formed from melted snow; snow-insect = snow-fly above; snow job slang (orig. US) an attempt at flattery, deception, or persuasion; snow-job verb trans. slang (orig. US) attempt to flatter, deceive, or persuade (someone); snow leopard a large endangered member of the cat family, Panthera uncia, which has a greyish-white coat with dark markings and is found in the mountains of central Asia; also called ounce; snow lily a dog's tooth violet, Erythronium grandiflorum, of alpine regions in western N. America; snowline the level above which snow never completely disappears; snow machine N. Amer. a motor vehicle designed to travel over snow; snow-maker (a person who uses) a device for the artificial production of a snowlike precipitate for ski slopes etc.; snow-making the production of a snowlike precipitate; snow-melt the melting of fallen snow; water that results from this; snow mould (a crop disease caused by) any of several fungi that develop under snow, spec. Fusarium nivale; snow-mouse (a) = snow vole below; (b) N. Amer. the American arctic lemming, Dicrostonyx groenlandicus; snow owl US the snowy owl; snowpack US lying snow that is compressed and hardened by its own weight; snow panther = snow leopard above; snow partridge (a) a partridge, Lerwa lerwa, which has barred black and white plumage and bright red bill and legs, and is found in the Himalayan region; (b) = snowcock above; snow pea the mange-tout pea; snow pellet Meteorology an opaque precipitated ice particle, usu. a few millimetres in diameter, that will bounce on a hard surface; a soft hailstone; (cf. snow grain above); snow petrel an all-white petrel, Pagodroma nivea, found in the Antarctic; snow pheasant = snowcock above; snow pigeon a brown and white pigeon, Columba leuconota, found in China and the Himalayas; snow plane N. Amer. a snowmobile mounted on skis and propelled by an engine-driven propeller; snow plant (a) an alga, Chlamydomonas nivalis, which is a cause of red snow; (b) a blood-red saprophytic plant, Sarcodes sanguinea (family Monotropaceae), of forests in the Sierra Nevada; snow powder: see POWDER noun1 1d; Snow Queen [from a character in a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale] a cold-hearted woman; snow roller a cylinder of snow formed by the wind rolling it along; snowscape, snow scene (a picture of) a landscape covered with snow; snow scorpion fly N. Amer. = snow flea (a) above; snow-ski verb intrans. = SKI verb 1; snow-sleep sleepiness induced by walking in snow; snow-slip an avalanche; snow-snake(s) a N. American Indian game played by hurling a straight wooden rod along an icy or snowy surface; the rod used in this game; snow sparrow any of various small birds; esp. (N. Amer.) a junco; snow-sports: which take place on snow, spec. skiing; snowstorm (a) a storm accompanied by a heavy fall of snow; (b) a transparent dome or globe containing a representation of a scene and loose silvery or metallic particles suspended in liquid, which, when shaken, creates the appearance of a snowstorm; (c) an appearance of dense snow (SNOW noun1 8) on a television or radar screen; snowsure adjective (of a ski resort or slope) likely to have enough snow to ski on during the season; snow-tyre: having a tread which gives extra traction on snow or ice; snow vole a vole, Microtus nivalis, found at high altitudes from the Pyrenees to Iran; snow-water: derived from melted snow; snow-white adjective & noun white (as snow), pure white; snow wolf a wolf that lives in snowy regions; the (imitation) fur of this animal; snow worm any of various small worms frequenting or living in snow; esp. = ice-worm s.v. ICE noun; snow-wreath a snowdrift.
snowless adjective E19.
snowlike adjective & adverb resembling or after the manner of snow M17.