sneeuw

Dutch

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sneeuw

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Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sneːu̯/
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: sneeuw
Rhymes: -eːu̯

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch snêe, from Old Dutch snēo, from Proto-West Germanic *snaiw, from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz.

The predominant form in earlier Modern Dutch was snee (compare German Schnee). The form sneeuw, which continues the Middle Dutch inflected stem, was reinforced by the verb sneeuwen (“to snow”). The sense "cocaine" (attested 1934) is a semantic loan from English snow.

Noun

sneeuw f (uncountable)

snow (frozen precipitation)
Kinderen zijn dol op spelen in de sneeuw tijdens de winter.
Children love playing in the snow during winter.

Er ligt een dikke laag sneeuw op de straten na de hevige sneeuwval.
There is a thick layer of snow on the streets after heavy snowfall.
snow, static, noise (on a display screen)
Het televisiesignaal is niet goed; ik zie alleen maar sneeuw op het scherm.
The TV signal is not good; I only see snow on the screen.

De oude monitor vertoont veel sneeuw en storing.
The old monitor has a lot of static and interference.
(slang) cocaine
Het is bekend dat sommige feestgangers sneeuw gebruiken op dit soort evenementen.
It's known that some partygoers use cocaine at this type of events.

Het bezit en gebruik van sneeuw zijn illegaal in de meeste landen.
Possession and use of cocaine are illegal in most countries.

Alternative forms

snee (now dialectal, otherwise obsolete)

Derived terms

Descendants

Afrikaans: sneeu
Negerhollands: sneew
→ Papiamentu: sneu, sneeuw
→ Sranan Tongo: snew

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

sneeuw

inflection of sneeuwen:
1. first-person singular present indicative
2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
3. imperative

References

sneeuw – Woordenboek van Populair Taalgebruik