SNOW / A WORD MAP

Snow, across Europe

A landscape map for export

Select a word to see its ancestry. Drag to compose; scroll to zoom.

Preparing the map…Landscape · words only · legend included

Sources

Geography, dictionaries and the references behind the map.

The atlas contains 106 selected language and variety entries. Language-area polygons are generalized and can overlap. A country reference layer fills the land beneath them; it does not describe ethnicity or uniform language use.

The Kurdish ranges include published Kurmanji and Sorani traditional-area supplements with a 1750 reference epoch. They show generalized historical ranges, not a current speaker census.

Aramaic labels distinguish Maaloula Western Neo-Aramaic, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic and Turoyo. Mandaic is a literary/liturgical reference near Basra. Where no suitable language-area polygon is documented, a location label is used.

Canarian tener? is a disputed historical report attributed to La Palma. The question mark is essential: this is not a secure reconstruction, and no relation to mainland Amazigh adfel is asserted. The island fill is a historical reference rather than a surviving speech area.

Geography

  1. Asher, R. E. & Christopher J. Moseley (eds.) 2007. Atlas of the World's Languages. 2nd edn. Routledge.

    Contemporary speaker-area polygons; source atlas published in 2007, digitized dataset version 2.0. CC BY 4.0

    Dataset repository · Dataset DOI · Exact source GeoJSON

  2. Carling, Gerd & Jost Gippert (eds.) 2025. DiACL/TITUS Polygon Archive. Frankfurt am Main: Goethe University.

    Traditional areas for Catalan, Occitan, Cornish, Crimean Tatar, Northern Kurdish and Central Kurdish; reference year 1750, with source timeframes usually 1750–2000. CC BY 4.0

    Dataset repository · Primary resource · Derived dataset DOI

  3. Rantanen, T., Vesakoski, O., Ylikoski, J., & Tolvanen, H. (2021). Geographical database of the Uralic languages (v1.0). Zenodo.

    Traditional Northern Sámi and Veps areas, approximately the widest known at the beginning of the 20th century. CC BY 4.0

    Dataset repository · Original dataset DOI · Derived dataset DOI · Methods paper

  4. Natural Earth 1:50m Admin 0 – Countries

    Complete reference-language land fill underneath language polygons; country boundaries are not linguistic boundaries. Natural Earth public domain

    Source download · Terms of use

  5. Glottolog 5.3: language reference locations

    Reference points for Maaloula Western Neo-Aramaic and Assyrian Neo-Aramaic; locations do not define speaker-area boundaries. CC BY 4.0

    Western Neo-Aramaic · Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

Words and etymologies

Each word and root links to its references. Most comparisons use Wiktionary alongside the dictionaries and institutional resources listed below. Asterisks mark reconstructed forms; uncertain histories are identified in the entry notes.

The Syrian Arabic reading telj and Mesopotamian Arabic thelij were supplied by the map author. Their dictionary link supports the broader Arabic etymology rather than independently verifying those exact regional readings.

All 139 dictionary, reconstruction and historical references
  1. Avar Dictionary, Universitat Pompeu Fabra: гӀазуAvar; Avar (root set)
  2. Bararan Armenian dictionary: ձյուն / dzyunArmenian
  3. Russian–Lak dictionary, Dagestan State University: снег / марххала, p. 327Lak; Lak (root set)
  4. Greenlandic–English Dictionary (University of Chicago and Oqaasileriffik, 2018): aputGreenlandic; Greenlandic (root set)
  5. IEC: Diccionari catala-valencia-balear, neuCatalan
  6. Real Academia Espanola: nieveSpanish
  7. Wiktionary: ñeve (Asturian)Asturian
  8. Wiktionary: śnieg (Polish)Polish
  9. Wiktionary: χιόνι (Greek)Armenian; Greek; PIE · snow / winter (root set)
  10. Wiktionary: кар (Kyrgyz)Kyrgyz
  11. Wiktionary: кар (Tatar)Tatar
  12. Wiktionary: ло (Chechen)Chechen; Nakh · snow (root set)
  13. Wiktionary: лум (Eastern Mari)Meadow Mari
  14. Wiktionary: лым (Komi-Zyrian)Komi-Zyrian
  15. Wiktionary: лымы (Udmurt)Udmurt
  16. Wiktionary: мит (Ossetian)Ossetian; Ossetian · snow (root set)
  17. Wiktionary: осы (West Circassian)Adyghe; Circassian (root set); Kabardian
  18. Wiktionary: снег (Belarusian)Belarusian
  19. Wiktionary: снег (Macedonian)Macedonian
  20. Wiktionary: снег (Russian)Russian
  21. Wiktionary: сняг (Bulgarian)Bulgarian
  22. Wiktionary: сніг (Ukrainian)Ukrainian
  23. Wiktionary: сыра (Tundra Nenets)Samoyedic (root set); Tundra Nenets
  24. Wiktionary: уэс (East Circassian)Adyghe; Circassian (root set); Kabardian
  25. Wiktionary: цасн (Kalmyk)Kalmyk; Mongolic (root set)
  26. Wiktionary: қар (Kazakh)Azerbaijani; Bashkir; Crimean Tatar; Kazakh; Kyrgyz; Tatar; Turkic · snow (root set); Turkish; Uzbek
  27. Wiktionary: ҡар (Bashkir)Bashkir
  28. Wiktionary: ձիւն (Old Armenian)Armenian; Greek; PIE · snow / winter (root set)
  29. Wiktionary: ձյուն (Armenian)Armenian
  30. Wiktionary: שלג (Hebrew)Arabic (standard reference); Egyptian Arabic; Hebrew; Maltese; Semitic · snow (root set); Tunisian Arabic
  31. Wiktionary: برف (Persian)Iranian · snow (root set); Northern Kurdish; Persian
  32. Wiktionary: برپ (Baluchi)Balochi
  33. Wiktionary: بەفر (Central Kurdish)Central Kurdish
  34. Wiktionary: تلج (Egyptian Arabic)Egyptian Arabic
  35. Wiktionary: ثلج (Arabic)Arabic (standard reference); Egyptian Arabic; Hebrew; Maltese; Mesopotamian Arabic; Semitic · snow (root set); Syrian Arabic; Tunisian Arabic
  36. Wiktionary: ثلج (Tunisian Arabic)Tunisian Arabic
  37. Wiktionary: თოვლი (Georgian)Georgian; Kartvelian · snow (root set)
  38. Wiktionary: ⴰⴷⴼⵍ (Central Atlas Tamazight)Berber · snow (root set); Central Atlas Tamazight; Kabyle; Tachelhit
  39. Wiktionary: Appendix:Kabyle Swadesh listKabyle
  40. Wiktionary: Appendix:Nakh-Dagestanian Swadesh listsAvar; Avar (root set); Dargwa; Dargwa (root set); Lak; Lak (root set); Lezgian; Lezgian (root set)
  41. Wiktionary: Tatar Swadesh listTatar
  42. Wiktionary: Appendix:Turkic Swadesh listsKarachay-Balkar; Kumyk
  43. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Basque/eruRBasque; Basque · snow (root set)
  44. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Brythonic/ėrɣBreton; Brythonic · snow (root set); Cornish; Welsh
  45. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/snígʷʰsAragonese; Asturian; Belarusian; Bulgarian; Catalan; Czech; Danish; Dutch; English; French; Friulian; Galician; German; Icelandic; Irish; Italian; Kashubian; Latvian; Lithuanian; Lower Sorbian; Luxembourgish; Macedonian; Manx; Norwegian; Occitan; PIE · to snow (root set); Polish; Portuguese; Romansh; Russian; Sardinian; Scots; Scottish Gaelic; Serbian–Croatian–Bosnian; Sicilian; Slovak; Slovenian; Spanish; Swedish; Ukrainian; Upper Sorbian; Venetian; West Frisian
  46. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/snóygʷʰosAragonese; Asturian; Belarusian; Bulgarian; Catalan; Czech; Danish; Dutch; English; French; Friulian; Galician; German; Icelandic; Irish; Italian; Kashubian; Latvian; Lithuanian; Lower Sorbian; Luxembourgish; Macedonian; Manx; Norwegian; Occitan; PIE · to snow (root set); Polish; Portuguese; Romansh; Russian; Sardinian; Scots; Scottish Gaelic; Serbian–Croatian–Bosnian; Sicilian; Slovak; Slovenian; Spanish; Swedish; Ukrainian; Upper Sorbian; Venetian; West Frisian
  47. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sneygʷʰ-Aragonese; Asturian; Belarusian; Bulgarian; Catalan; Czech; Danish; Dutch; English; French; Friulian; Galician; German; Icelandic; Irish; Italian; Kashubian; Latvian; Lithuanian; Lower Sorbian; Luxembourgish; Macedonian; Manx; Norwegian; Occitan; PIE · to snow (root set); Polish; Portuguese; Romansh; Russian; Sardinian; Scots; Scottish Gaelic; Serbian–Croatian–Bosnian; Sicilian; Slovak; Slovenian; Spanish; Swedish; Ukrainian; Upper Sorbian; Venetian; West Frisian
  48. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Iranian/wafrahBakhtiari; Balochi; Central Kurdish; Northern Luri; Southern Luri
  49. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Nakh/lawaIngush
  50. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Sami/muottëkNorthern Sámi; Sámi · snow (root set)
  51. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/kārKarachay-Balkar; Kumyk; Turkmen
  52. Wiktionary: Reconstruction:Proto-Uralic/lomeEstonian; Finnish; Karelian; Komi-Zyrian; Meadow Mari; Udmurt; Uralic · snow (root set); Veps
  53. Wiktionary: Schnéi (Luxembourgish)Luxembourgish
  54. Wiktionary: Schnee (German)German
  55. Wiktionary: Dargwa transliteration (following Gippert / TITUS)Dargwa
  56. Wiktionary: adfl (Tashelhit)Berber · snow (root set); Central Atlas Tamazight; Kabyle; Tachelhit
  57. Wiktionary: berf (Northern Kurdish)Iranian · snow (root set); Northern Kurdish; Persian
  58. Wiktionary: borë (Albanian)Albanian; Albanian · falling (root set)
  59. Wiktionary: eira (Welsh)Welsh
  60. Wiktionary: elur (Basque)Basque; Basque · snow (root set)
  61. Wiktionary: erc'h (Breton)Breton
  62. Wiktionary: ergh (Cornish)Cornish
  63. Wiktionary: gar (Turkmen)Turkmen
  64. Wiktionary: hó (Hungarian)Hungarian; Uralic · snow (root set)
  65. Wiktionary: kar (Turkish)Azerbaijani; Bashkir; Crimean Tatar; Kazakh; Kyrgyz; Tatar; Turkic · snow (root set); Turkish; Uzbek
  66. Wiktionary: kavi (Faroese)Faroese; Norse: snowdrift / submerge (root set)
  67. Wiktionary: lumi (Estonian)Estonian
  68. Wiktionary: lumi (Finnish)Estonian; Finnish; Karelian; Meadow Mari; Udmurt; Uralic · snow (root set); Veps
  69. Wiktionary: lumi (Karelian)Karelian
  70. Wiktionary: lumi (Veps)Veps
  71. Wiktionary: muohta (Northern Sami)Northern Sámi; Sámi · snow (root set)
  72. Wiktionary: nèu (Occitan)Occitan
  73. Wiktionary: nêf (Friulian)Friulian
  74. Wiktionary: naiv (Romansh)Romansh
  75. Wiktionary: neige (French)French
  76. Wiktionary: neu (Catalan)Catalan
  77. Wiktionary: neve (Galician)Galician
  78. Wiktionary: neve (Italian)Italian
  79. Wiktionary: neve (Portuguese)Portuguese
  80. Wiktionary: neve (Venetian)Venetian
  81. Wiktionary: nibe (Sardinian)Sardinian
  82. Wiktionary: nieu (Aragonese)Aragonese
  83. Wiktionary: nieve (Spanish)Spanish
  84. Wiktionary: nivi (Sicilian)Sicilian
  85. Wiktionary: qar (Azerbaijani)Azerbaijani
  86. Wiktionary: qar (Crimean Tatar)Crimean Tatar
  87. Wiktionary: qor (Uzbek)Uzbek
  88. Wiktionary: silġ (Maltese)Arabic (standard reference); Egyptian Arabic; Hebrew; Maltese; Semitic · snow (root set); Tunisian Arabic
  89. Wiktionary: sníh (Czech)Czech
  90. Wiktionary: snö (Swedish)Swedish
  91. Wiktionary: snø (Norwegian)Norwegian
  92. Wiktionary: sněg (Lower Sorbian)Lower Sorbian
  93. Wiktionary: sněh (Upper Sorbian)Upper Sorbian
  94. Wiktionary: snaw (Scots)Scots
  95. Wiktionary: sne (Danish)Danish
  96. Wiktionary: sneachd (Scottish Gaelic)Scottish Gaelic
  97. Wiktionary: sneachda (Scottish Gaelic)Scottish Gaelic
  98. Wiktionary: sneachta (Irish)Irish
  99. Wiktionary: snechtae (Old Irish)Irish; Manx; Scottish Gaelic
  100. Wiktionary: sneeuw (Dutch)Dutch
  101. Wiktionary: sneg (Slovenian)Slovenian
  102. Wiktionary: sneh (Slovak)Slovak
  103. Wiktionary: sniég (Kashubian)Kashubian
  104. Wiktionary: sniaghtey (Manx)Manx
  105. Wiktionary: snie (West Frisian)West Frisian
  106. Wiktionary: sniegas (Lithuanian)Lithuanian
  107. Wiktionary: sniegs (Latvian)Latvian
  108. Wiktionary: snijeg (Serbo-Croatian)Serbian–Croatian–Bosnian
  109. Wiktionary: snjógvur (poetic / archaic)Faroese
  110. Wiktionary: snjór (Icelandic)Icelandic
  111. Wiktionary: snowBakhtiari
  112. Wiktionary: snow (English)English
  113. Wiktionary: zăpadă (Romanian)Romanian; Slavic · fall (root set)
  114. Johanna Nichols, UC Berkeley: Ingush Swadesh word listIngush
  115. Oqaasileriffik, Language Secretariat of Greenland: terms for snow and iceGreenlandic; Greenlandic (root set)
  116. Russian Wiktionary: жив (Lezgian)Lezgian; Lezgian (root set)
  117. Institute of the Estonian Language: Transliteration of Dargwa, TITUS columnDargwa
  118. Institute of the Estonian Language: Transliteration of Lak, ALA-LC columnLak
  119. Dallet's Kabyle–French dictionary: adfelBerber · snow (root set); Central Atlas Tamazight; Kabyle; Tachelhit
  120. Euskaltzaindia: elur, dictionary entry (PDF)Basque
  121. Oyggjar English-Faroese lexicon: snow / kaviFaroese
  122. Alonso de Espinosa, Del origen y milagros de la Santa Imagen de Nuestra Señora de Candelaria (1594), book I chapter1, fol.9vCanarian report (root set); Indigenous Canarian (La Palma; disputed report)
  123. Carmen Díaz Alayón and Francisco Javier Castillo, Estudio de la lista de voces prehispánicas de Juan Bautista Lorenzo Rodríguez, Almogaren 44–45 (2013–2014), pp.7–56, especially p.35Canarian report (root set); Indigenous Canarian (La Palma; disputed report)
  124. Juan Álvarez Delgado, Miscelánea guanche (1941), printed pp.46–48Canarian report (root set); Indigenous Canarian (La Palma; disputed report)
  125. Maximiano Trapero, Los Guanchismos, entry Tenerife / Tinefe / Tenerista (ULPGC)Canarian report (root set); Indigenous Canarian (La Palma; disputed report)
  126. Werner Arnold, Western Neo-Aramaic, The Semitic Languages, pp. 685–696, esp. p. 689 (2011/2012)Western Neo-Aramaic (Maaloula)
  127. Full handbook PDF used to inspect Arnold's p. 689 tableWestern Neo-Aramaic (Maaloula)
  128. Geoffrey Khan, Verbal Forms Expressing Discourse Dependency in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic, p. 163 (2021)Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
  129. Sureth Online Dictionary, snow (Oraham / Bailis Shamun; entry marked Classical Syriac)Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
  130. Wiktionary: ܬܠܓܐ, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic reference orthography, reading and etymologyAssyrian Neo-Aramaic
  131. Cambridge North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic Database: dialect region and language varietiesAssyrian Neo-Aramaic
  132. Glottolog: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic reference locationAssyrian Neo-Aramaic
  133. Šlomo Surayt: An Introductory Course to Surayt-Aramaic (Turoyo), lesson 1.6 Vocabulary, Aramaic Online ProjectTuroyo / Surayt
  134. Barsky, Kalinin and Loesov (2018), The Basic Lexicon of Mlaḥsô: A Comparative Study, p. 232Turoyo / Surayt
  135. Qais Al-Saadi, Nhura: English–Mandaic / Mandaic–Mandaic Dictionary (2012), p.93; also p.204Mandaic (Mandaean liturgical reference)
  136. Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, tlg / tlgʾMandaic (Mandaean liturgical reference)
  137. Charles G. Häberl, The Neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr (2009), pp.42,113Mandaic (Mandaean liturgical reference)
  138. Chiara Stornaiuolo, šèleg – snow, Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database, §1 A.1,A.4Mandaic (Mandaean liturgical reference)
  139. Encyclopaedia Iranica: Mandaean communities in southern Iraq and Iran; modern language distinctionsMandaic (Mandaean liturgical reference)

Typography and software

Wiktionary content is attributed under CC BY-SA 4.0; other dictionaries retain their own terms. Geometry, font and software licences are recorded separately.

Source catalog (JSON) · Geographic provenance · Lexicon · README

Poster downloads: 6,000px PNG · SVG. Use the map controls above to export a different view.

WORD ANCESTRY

A word in focus

BEHIND THE MAP

Sources & map notes