Snow v.

Pa. t. and pple. snowed. Forms: α. Sc. and north. 4–5 snawe, 5– snaw; 4 snou-, 5–7 snowe (5 -yn), 4– snow, Pa. t. and pa. pple. 4, 8– snawed, 9 snaa’d, snaa’t; 6– snowed. β. Pa. t. 4 sneu, 4– (now dial.) snew, 6 snewe. Pa. pple. 5 snawen, 9 dial. snawn; 6 snowen, 9 dial. snown, snewn. [f. SNOW sb.¹, taking the place of OE. sníwan, SNEW v. Cf. MDu. sneuwen, sn(o)uwen (Du. sneeuwen), LG. sneen, schneen, ON. snjáva, snjóva (Icel. snjóa, Norw. snjoa, snjøa, etc.; Sw. snöga, snöa, Da. sne). The strong conjugation, formerly common, was no doubt due to the influence of BLOW v.¹]

  1.  intr. It snows, snow falls. Also occas. with snow as subject.

  Examples of the strong forms are given under β.

  α.  13[?].  K. Alis., 6450 (Laud MS.). Whan it snoweþ, oiþer rineþ.

1412–20.  Lydg., Chron. Troy, I. 1644. Sche koude make … to hayle and snowe, And frese also.

c. 1425.  Eng. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 665. Floctat, snawes…. Ningit, snawes.

c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 462/1. Snowyn, ningit.

1486.  Eng. Misc. (Surtees, 1890), 57. And ther schall it snaw by craft, to be made of waffrons in maner of snaw.

1530.  Palsgr., 724/1. In wynter, whan it snoweth, it is good syttynge by a good fyre.

1592.  Arden of Feversham, V. i. As we went, it snowed al the way.

1638.  R. Baker, trans. Balzac’s Lett. (vol. II.), 45. Where it is counted for a wonder, that … it was cold or snowed.

1662.  J. Davies, trans. Mandelslo’s Trav., 4. Though it were very bad weather, and snow’d all night.

1707.  Floyer, Physic. Pulse-Watch, 322. The Barometer sunk to the bottom, it Rain’d and Snow’d.

1772.  T. Smith, Jrnl. (1849), 287. Though it has snowed very often this month, there has been no deep snows.

1841.  Dickens, Barn. Rudge, xvi. Glad to hear it rained, or snowed, or blow, or froze.

1864.  Mrs. Carlyle, Lett., III. 237. If it … snows as hard there as here.

  β.  c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 13551. Also þikke as snow þen [v.r. þat] snew, Or al so hail þat stormes blew.

1525.  Ld. Berners, Froiss., II. 342. Also it rayned, blewe, & snewe, that it was a mervaylouse yvell wether.

c. 1540.  Copland, Hye Way to Spyttel Ho., 99, in Hazl., E. P. P., IV. 27. For it had snowen, and frosen very strong.

1586.  A. Day, Eng. Secretary, II. (1625), 80. I had as lieue he told me it snew.

1640.  E. Dacres, trans. Machiavelli’s Prince, 279. Always and in all seasons, whether it rain’d or snew, he went with his head uncover’d.

1695.  Wood, Life, 30 Jan. On T[uesday] the 29 of Jan. it snow all the day.

a. 1800.  Pegge, Suppl. Grose, Snew, the Preterit of snow. York.

1870.  Lady Verney, Lettice Lisle, 295. It never snew once last winter.

1877.  Holderness Gloss., 131/2. It’s snawn all way here.

  2.  To fall, descend, etc., in the manner of snow. Also fig.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 6381. It sneu to þam als it war flur.

1833.  Tennyson, Pal. Art, 139. A hundred winters snow’d upon his breast, From cheek and throat and chin.

c. 1860.  F. W. Faber, Hymn, ‘The House of Mourning,’ xviii. That unrestful gloom, Where the light snows in.

1894.  Baring-Gould, Queen of Love, I. 153. Away shot the cards,… snowing upon the audience in the front rows.

  3.  trans. To let fall as snow; to cause to descend in the manner of snow; to shower down.

a. 1366[?].  Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 558. Hir throte al so white of hewe, As snawe on braunche snawed newe.

1587.  Fleming, Contn. Holinshed, III. 1355. It hailed small confects, rained rosewater, and snew an artificiall kind of snow.

1598.  Shaks., Merry W., V. v. 22. Let the skie raine Potatoes: let it thunder…, haile kissing Comfits, and snow Eringoes.

1608.  Chapman, Duke of Byron, V. iii. Q 4. And as a Sauadge Bore … houlds his anger vp, And snowes it forth in foame.

1613.  Heywood, Braz. Age, II. ii. Wks. 1874, III. 192. Where the Boare Hath in his fury snow’d his scattered foame.

1827.  Scott, Chron. Canongate, Introd. The theatrical mechanist, who, when the white paper which represented his shower of snow was exhausted, continued the storm by snowing brown.

1847.  Tennyson, Princess, I. 60. He … tore the king’s letter, snow’d it down.

1876.  ‘Mark Twain,’ Tom Sawyer, xvi. A sweep of chilly air passed by,… snowing the flaky ashes broadcast about the fire.

  b.  In figurative use. Also absol. (quot. 1751).

a. 1631.  Donne, Poems (1633), 196 (J.). Till age snow white haires on thee.

1684.  N. Lee, Constantine, II. 15. I’ll stay till Age Has Snow’d a hundred Winters on my Head.

1751.  Young, Nt. Th., V. 602. Time on this head has snow’d.

1878.  N. Amer. Rev., CXXVI. 166. ‘Snowing’ old inflation speeches over the Eastern states.

1905.  Sollas, Age of Earth, iii. 65. [The] Eiffel Tower, snowing post-cards from its summit all over the civilized world.

  4.  To strew or cover with or as with snow. Also transf.

c. 1400.  Maundev. (Roxb.), xiv. 65. Waters and maracez … whilk a man may noȝt passe, bot if he hafe riȝt hard frost and þat it be wele snawen abouen.

1635.  Heywood, London’s Sinus Salutis, 295. Even the Horse,… When the most curb’d, and playing with the bit,… snowes the ground.

1743.  Francis, trans. Horace, Odes, IV. xiii. 12. II. 235. Scar’d at thy Wrinkles, haggard Eyes, And Head snow’d o’er with Grey.

1820.  Shelley, Hymn Merc., xciv. Three virgin Sisters, who,… Their heads with flour snowed over white and new, Sit in a vale.

1873.  Symonds, Grk. Poets, x. 312. Cherry-trees and apricots snow the grass in spring with a white wealth of April blossoms.

1887.  F. Robinson, New Religio Medici, 133. The mantle … of the Star of India drapes a coffin whose lid is snowed with flowers.

  5.  To cause (the hair, etc.) to turn white like snow; to invest with white hair.

1598.  Sylvester, Du Bartas, II. ii. III. Colonies, 761. Thou (tender Mother) will not suffer Age To snow my locks in Forrein Pilgrimage.

a. 1689.  Mrs. Behn, trans. Cowley’s Plants, C.’s Wks. (Grosart), II. 245. In Youth severe, Before the Winter-Age had snow’d their Hair.

1698.  Fryer, Acc. E. India & P., 275. He is a goodly Reverend Old Man, snowed with Age.

1904.  Westm. Gaz., 28 Dec., 1/3. Yamagata stays in Tokio,… snowed with seventy years.

  6.  a. With up. To block, obstruct, incommode, imprison, etc., with snow. Usu. in pa. pple.

1815.  Jane Austen, Emma, xiii. I was snowed up at a friend’s house once for a week.

1862.  Sala, Seven Sons, I. v. 95. News came from the country of trains snowed-up.

1873.  Smiles, Huguenots France (1881), I. iv. 67. He wrote … from some remote place where he was snowed up.

  transf.  1837.  Carlyle, Fr. Rev., I. IV. i. It is a sheer snowing of pamphlets; like to snow up the Government thoroughfares!

  b.  With under: To bury in snow; fig. to submerge, overwhelm, overpower, etc. Orig. U.S.

1880.  ‘E. Kirke,’ Garfield, 32. Democrats vied with Republicans … in snowing him under with congratulations.

1894.  United Service Mag., Oct., 28. Mercier was snowed under by a majority greater than had ever been known in Canadian history.

1911.  Webster, s.v., The train was snowed under.

  c.  To drive out, take away, by means of snow.

1851.  Mrs. Browning, Casa Guidi Wind., I. Wks. (1904), 345. [To] prove that all the winters which have snowed Cannot snow out the scent … Of a sincere man’s virtues.

1891.  W. F. Moulton, Lett., in Mem. (1899), 247. Every lingering fragment of inflection would be blown, snowed, sleeted, rained and sunned away.