Etymograph

English

blizzard

Blizzard comes from Old English blysa ‘blaze’, from Proto-Germanic *blusją ‘torch’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to blaze, burn, shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-1‘to blaze, burn, shine’disputed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blusją2‘torch’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blusi2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150blysa3‘blaze’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2013blizzard3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *blusją
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English blysa
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English blizzard
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Snakes and ladders: “Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *blusją‘to blaze, burn, shine’disputed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blusjąWiktionary, Old English blysa‘torch’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blusiWiktionary, Old English blysareconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150blysaWiktionary, English blizzard‘blaze’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2013blizzardWiktionary, English blizzard. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Snakes and ladders: “Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly…”

The story

Unknown, with various theories as below.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. Etymology theoriesdisputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. BLIZZARD (7th S. v. 106).—The word blizzard is well known through the Midlands, and its cognates are fairly numerous. I have known the word and its kin fully thirty years.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to blaze, burn, shine’

ball, bowl, bell, bull, bold, flame, bald, boil, bale, blaze, blush, bleach, blur, bolster, budge, sabha, blemish, bola, phlegm, phallus, bolero, phlox, blain, blithe, bleat, 72 more

Today it means

noun A large snowstorm accompanied by strong winds and greatly reduced visibility caused by blowing snow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “blizzard”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *blusją, Old English blysa. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- / blizzard

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