This Proto-Indo-European entry contains reconstructed words and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Root [ edit ]

*sneygʷʰ-

to snow

Karl Hoffman proposed in 1965 that the original meaning of the root was "to stick, remain", with semantic shift to "snow" (i.e. snow is that which sticks). That sense is still being assigned in LIV. However, that interpretation is highly unlikely, given that all the other daughters except Sanskrit (and also within Indo-Iranian and even Indo-Aryan family itself; cf. Prakrit reflex siṇēha "snow, hoarfrost") point to "to snow" as the original meaning of the root. According to Cheung (2007), Hoffman's explanation that this meaning could have coexisted with the meaning "to snow" is untenable. Cheung (2007) argues that the Sanskrit meaning "to stick, remain; sticky fluid" is secondary (possibly of slang origin) "perhaps from whitish bodily fluids which are compared to snow, notably snot and spit".

Derived terms [ edit ]

*snéygʷʰ-e-ti ( thematic root present ) Germanic: *snīwaną see there for further descendants ) Indo-Iranian: *snáyǰʰati Iranian: *snáyǰati Avestan: 𐬯𐬥𐬀𐬉𐬲𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 ( snaēža i ti , “ snows ” )

*snigʷʰ-e-ti ( zero-grade thematic root present ) Hellenic: Ancient Greek: νίφω ( níphō )

*sni-né-gʷʰ-ti ~ *sni-n-gʷʰ-énti ( nasal-infix present ) Italic: Latin: ningit / ninguit

*snigʷʰ-yé-ti ( ye-present ) Celtic: *snigʷyeti ( see there for further descendants ) Indo-Iranian: *sniǰʰyáti Indo-Aryan: *sníźʰyati Sanskrit: स्निह्यति ( sníhyati , “ to be adhesive or sticky; to remain, stick ” )

*snígʷʰ-s ( “ snow ” )

*snóygʷʰ-o-s ( “ snow ” )

Unsorted formations: Balto-Slavic: Latvian: snigt Lithuanian: snìgti Indo-Iranian: Iranian: Shughni: жиниҷ ( žiniǰ ) Tocharian: Tocharian B: śiñcatstse ( “ snowy ” ) (< nominalized *śiñce ( “ snow ” ) < *snigʷʰēn )

