snowyadj.n.
/ˈsnəʊi/, U.S. /ˈsnoʊi/ A. adj.
1. Of weather, time, etc.: Characterized by the presence or prevalence of snow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > [adjective]
snowyc1000
snowish1566
ninguid1656
c1000 Saxon Leechd. III. 274 Se feorða heafod wind..blæwð norðan cealde & snawlic [v.r. snawig].
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ix. 333 It ouerfloweth not but in rainie and snowie weather.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi v. §2. 161 Your experienced husbandman desireth that the winter may be cold and snowie.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall xviii. 133 It was a Snowy day.
1701 O. Heywood Autobiogr., Diaries, Anecd. & Event Bks. (1885) IV. 175 This is a snowy morning.
1748 T. Smith Jrnl. (1849) 270 A cold, snowy, uncomfortable month.
1800 T. Campbell Ode to Winter 53 Milder yet thy snowy breezes Pour on yonder tented shores.
1830 T. Carlyle in Foreign Rev. Jan. 26 Let the weather be sunny or snowy.
1884 E. P. Roe Nature's Serial Story vii The snowiest day of winter.
2. Composed of melted snow; consisting, formed, or made of snow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > [adjective] > consisting of snow
snowya1240
α.
β. 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Niueus liquor, snowy water.1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 862 The lower Mountaines..haue more Giantly ouer-lookers, with Snowie lockes and Cloudie lookes.1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum at Sleetiness Snowy Rain.a1771 T. Gray Ode in W. Mason Mem. Life & Writings (1775) 236 The sullen year Saw the snowy whirlwind fly.1785 W. Cowper Task v. 98 On the flood, Indurated and fixt, the snowy weight Lies undissolv'd.1818 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto IV clxxxi. 93 As the snowy flake, They melt.1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xii. 90 The Glacier..thrust through the black pines its snowy tongue.a1240 Sawles Warde in Old Eng. Hom. I. 251 Þer is..toðes hechelunge iþe snawi weattres.
1483 Cath. Angl. 346/2 Snawy, niueus.
1786 R. Burns Poems 59 When thowes dissolve the snawy hoord.
3. in extended use.1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) xiii. xlv. 197 That fire of leacherous rage Which burnt ev'n in their cold and snowy age.
a. Covered with snow; abounding in snow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > [adjective] > covered with snow
snowy1548
snowish1589
whited1655
snow-clad1812
snowed1854
snowed-in1982
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Niualia loca, snowy places.
?1592 Trag. Solyman & Perseda iv. i. 83 Neck, whiter then the snowie Apenines.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 98 We continually did see the snowy toppes of those Mountaines.
1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Journall (new ed.) iii. sig. X1 Thence to Ayscarth, from a mountaine..cliffs steep and snowy..saw I.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 207 Monte Mantumiato..peeping above any Clowds with its snowy head.
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 7 His slanting ray Slides ineffectual down the snowy vale.
1850 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 3) 70 The splendour falls on castle walls And snowy summits old in story.
1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe i. 48 The snowy ranges of California..seem to be unpleasantly bare and chill.
b. Of the picture on a television screen: affected with snow (snow n.1 5f).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [adjective] > defects
snowy1959
1959 Levy & Frankel Television Servicing xiv. 442 The picture may become weak and snowy.
1976 H. Kemelman Wednesday Rabbi got Wet xxiii. 73 She turned the set on... There was a lot of static, and the picture wavered and became snowy.
4. in extended use.1647 J. Hall Poems ii. 95 There did he loose his snowy Innocence.
a. Of or resembling the pure white colour of snow; snow-white, niveous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > white or whiteness > [adjective] > pure white > as snow
snow-whitec1000
as pure (also white) as (the) driven snowc1330
snowishc1374
snowy1590
nixious1623
snow-like1663
snow1750
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. x. sig. K3v That godly aged Sire, With snowy lockes.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. i. sig. Cc2v Which staynes his snowy skin with hatefull hew.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. v. 47 So showes a snowie Doue trooping with Crowes. View more context for this quotation
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 16 Many antient Men, venerable for their long snowy beards.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 114 Ev'n though a snowy Ram thou shalt behold. View more context for this quotation
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxiv. 93 We then collect thy snowy bones.
1786 R. Burns Poemsy 171 Thy snawie bosom sun-ward spread.
1833 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Loire 21 Towering caps of the snowiest muslin, enriched with lace.
1882 Garden 9 Sept. 224/3 A charming little plant..with dense tufts of snowy blooms.
b. Used to qualify white or whiteness.
ΚΠ
1785 T. Pennant Arctic Zool. II. ii. 549 Of a snowy whiteness.
a1800 W. Cowper Yardley-Oak in W. Hayley Life & Posthumous Writings Cowper (1804) III. 414 A splinter'd stump, bleach'd to a snowy white.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby l. 493 Stained rotten canvas looked a snowy white.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany v. 50 That snowy whiteness which I so much admired in the Breton caps.
1883 Longman's Mag. July 308 Some Alpine buttercups are snowy-white.
5.
a. In names of flowers, etc.
ΚΠ
1822 S. Clarke Hortus Anglicus II. 392 Tussilago Nivea. Snowy Colt's-foot.
1889 R. A. R. Bennett Marine Aquaria viii. 71 Snowy Anemone,..Sagartia nivea.
1901 Gardener 12 Jan. 1047/3 In cultivation the Snowy Crowfoot [Ranunculus amplexicaulis] generally blooms in April or May.
b. snowy pear n. the snow-pear (see snow-pear n. at snow n.1 Compounds 4d).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > pear > other types of
calewey1377
honey peara1400
pome-pear1440
pome-wardena1513
choke-pear1530
muscadel1555
worry pear1562
lording1573
bon-chrétienc1575
Burgundian pear1578
king pear1585
pound pear1585
poppering1597
wood of Jerusalem1597
muscadine1598
amiot1600
bergamot1600
butter pear1600
dew-pear1600
greening1600
mollart1600
roset1600
wax pear1600
bottle pear1601
gourd-pear1601
Venerian pear1601
musk pear1611
rose pear1611
pusill1615
Christian1629
nutmeg1629
rolling pear1629
surreine1629
sweater1629
amber pear1638
Venus-pear1648
horse-pear1657
Martin1658
russet1658
rousselet1660
diego1664
frith-pear1664
maudlin1664
Messire Jean1664
primate1664
sovereign1664
spindle-pear1664
stopple-pear1664
sugar-pear1664
virgin1664
Windsor pear1664
violet-pear1666
nonsuch1674
muscat1675
burnt-cat1676
squash pear1676
rose1678
Longueville1681
maiden-heart1685
ambrette1686
vermilion1691
admiral1693
sanguinole1693
satin1693
St. Germain pear1693
pounder pear1697
vine-pear1704
amadot1706
marchioness1706
marquise1706
Margaret1707
short-neck1707
musk1708
burree1719
marquis1728
union pear1728
Doyenne pear1731
Magdalene1731
beurré1736
colmar1736
Monsieur Jean1736
muscadella1736
swan's egg1736
chaumontel1755
St Michael's pear1796
Williams1807
Marie Louise1817
seckel1817
Bartlett1828
vergaloo1828
Passe Colmar1837
glou-morceau1859
London sugar1860
snow-pear1860
Comice1866
Kieffer pear1880
sand pear1880
sandy pear1884
snowy pear1884
1884 de Candolle's Orig. Cultivated Pl. 233 The snowy pears cultivated in France to make the drink called perry have become wild in the woods here and there.
B. n.
1. slang. Linen.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > made from specific material > flax or hemp > linen
linea700
linenc1330
lingerie1835
snowy1877
1877 J. W. Horsley Jottings from Jail 6 We used to go and smug snowy (steal linen) that was hung out to dry.
2. The snowy owl.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Strigiformes or owl > [noun] > family Strigidae > nyctea nivea (snowy-owl)
harfang1774
snowy owl1781
spotted owl1785
wapacuthu1785
snow-owl1811
snowy1904
1904 P. Fountain Great North-West xiii. 144 If these are European snowies, the North-West Territory bird is probably a distinct variety.
1904 P. Fountain Great North-West xiii. 144 The snowy made the feathers fly.
Compounds
C1. In the specific names of birds or animals (see quots.).
snowy auk n.
ΚΠ
1829 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom VIII. 557 Snowy Auk, Mormon Glacialis.
snowy egret n.
ΚΠ
1895 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. II. Snowy egret or heron, an entirely white egret (Ardea candidissima) ranging from New York to Chile.
snowy falcon n.
ΚΠ
1829 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom VI. 44 Snowy Falcon, Falco niveus.
snowy hare n.
ΚΠ
1827 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom V. 265 Lepus Glacialis (Snowy Hare).
snowy heron n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [noun] > family Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) > member of genus Egretta (miscellaneous) > egretta alba (great egret)
white heron1575
snowy heron1785
white egret1828
kotuku1846
1785 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds III. i. 92 Snowy Heron, Ardea nivea.
1813 A. Wilson Amer. Ornithol. VII. 120 Snowy Heron, Ardea candidissima. The Snowy Heron seems particularly fond of the salt marshes during summer.
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 267 Little White Egret. Snowy Heron... Plumage always entirely white.
snowy lemming n. (see Snowy lemming n. at lemming n. 2).
snowy owl n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Strigiformes or owl > [noun] > family Strigidae > nyctea nivea (snowy-owl)
harfang1774
snowy owl1781
spotted owl1785
wapacuthu1785
snow-owl1811
snowy1904
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 132 Snowy Owl... The whole plumage is white as snow.
1876 Nature 19 Oct. 562/1 The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens..include..two Snowy Owls (Nyctea nivea).
1895 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. IV. 162 The great snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) cannot be confounded with any other member of the order, being the only representative of its genus.
snowy petrel n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Procellariiformes > [noun] > member of family Procellariidae (petrel) > pagodroma nivea (snow petrel)
snowy petrel1777
snow-petrel1843
1777 G. Forster Voy. round World I. 96 Its colour induced us to call it the snowy-petrel.
1895 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. IV. 525 The snowy petrel (Pagodroma nivea).
snowy plover n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > [noun] > family Charadriidae > genus Charadrius > charadrius alexandrinus (snowy plover)
snowy plover1872
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 245 Snowy Plover..; several lateral tail feathers entirely white.
1891 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) Snowy plover, Ægialites nivosus, a small ring-plover of the Pacific and Mexican Gulf coasts of the United States.
C2. snowy-banded, snowy-bosomed, etc.
ΚΠ
a1618 J. Sylvester Cup Consol. 10 in Wks. (1880) II. 263 Where Snow-winged Victory doth wun.
1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) iii. cxviii. 34 Pure and snowy-countnanc'd Linen.
1717 N. Rowe Ode for New Year ii Snowy-headed Winter leads.
1744 M. Akenside Pleasures Imagination iii. 434 On the brink of Ganges waits The snowy-vested seer.
1760 F. Fawkes tr. Anacreon Odes in tr. Anacreon Wks. v. 19 With snowy-bosomed Sappho gay.
1831 W. Howitt Bk. Seasons 179 The verdurous, snowy-flowered elder.
1836–48 B. D. Walsh tr. Aristophanes Clouds i. iii Mimas's snowy-capped summit.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud viii, in Maud & Other Poems 32 I heard no longer The snowy-banded,..priest intone.
1889 A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xxiii. 227 A great herd of snowy-fleeced sheep.
Derivatives
ˈsnowyish adj. somewhat snowy.
ΚΠ
1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 10 570 It is..rawish—coldish—icyish—snowyish.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.c1000