English
snowish
Snowish comes from Middle English snowisshe ‘snow-white’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sneygʷʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sneygʷʰ-1‘to snow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*snóygʷʰos2‘snow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*snaiwaz3‘snow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*snaiw3‘snow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150snāw3‘snow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snow4
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snowisshe5‘snow-white’
- Englishtodaysnowish5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz
- 3 Wiktionary, Middle English snow
- 4 Wiktionary, Middle English snowisshe
- 5 Wiktionary, English snowish
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sneygʷʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos‘to snow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*snóygʷʰosWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz‘snow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*snaiwazWiktionary, Middle English snow‘snow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*snaiwWiktionary, Middle English snow‘snow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150snāwWiktionary, Middle English snow‘snow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snowWiktionary, Middle English snowisshe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500snowissheWiktionary, English snowish‘snow-white’
- EnglishtodaysnowishWiktionary, English snowish
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *sneygʷʰ-
Today it means
adj snow-white
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “snowish”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos, Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz, Middle English snow, Middle English snowisshe. 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 *sneygʷʰ- / snowish