snow-white

See also: Snow White and snow white

English

Etymology

From Middle English snow whit, snowe-white, snouwite, snawhwit, from Old English snāwhwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *snaiwhwīt, from Proto-Germanic *snaiwahwītaz; equivalent to snow +‎ white. Cognate with Dutch sneeuwwit (“snow-white”), German schneeweiß (“snow-white”), Swedish snövit (“snow-white”).

Pronunciation
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Adjective

snow-white (not comparable)

  1. As white as snow; exceptionally white.
    Synonym: lily-white
    • 1880, Sabine Baring-Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, page 449:
      One day he wandered to the banks of the Rhine. On its discolored waters swam a snow-white swan, playfully pulling at the rope which bound a small skiff to the shore.
    • 1982 August 14, Mary Ann Peacott, Liz Nania, “BT's In Boston”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 5, page 12:
      It was also a delight to see a racially mixed band from Boston. Too bad that the crowd was snow white. We've all still got a helluva long way to go.

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Translations

Noun

snow-white (plural snow-whites)

  1. (ethnic slur, offensive, slang) A Caucasian person, especially a woman.

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