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Why does Scotland have 421 words for snow?

Why does Scotland have 421 words for snow?

Academics working on a news Scots Thesaurus claim that the Scottish language has 421 different words to describe snow. The words describe the type, texture, size and shape of snow, the way snow falls and the associated weather conditions with snow.

What does Feefle mean?

Scots have 421 words for snow, even more than the Inuit people, researchers have found. Other Scottish words relating to snow include “feefle”, meaning to swirl, “snaw-pouther”, which is fine driving snow, and “flindrikin”, a slight snow shower.

Which language has 400 words for snow?

Scots
Scotland has more than 400 words and expressions for snow, according to a project to compile a Scots thesaurus. Academics have officially logged 421 terms – including “snaw” (snow), “sneesl” (to begin to rain or snow) and “skelf” (a large snowflake).

What language has most words for snow?

Which language has the most words for snow? According to researchers at the University of Glasgow, the winner is…. Scots! They claim that Scots has 421 words for snow.

Are there 421 words for snow in Scotland?

400 Words for Snow It has been documented that the Inuits of Greenland, and parts of Alaska, have more than 50 words for snow, but recently we discovered that the Scots have 421 words for snow.

What are the 50 Inuit words for snow?

Is the 50 words for snow myth completely false?

  • qanuk: ‘snowflake’
  • kaneq: ‘frost’
  • kanevvluk: ‘fine snow’
  • qanikcaq: ‘snow on ground’
  • muruaneq: ‘soft deep snow’
  • nutaryuk: ‘fresh snow’
  • pirta: ‘blizzard’
  • qengaruk: ‘snow bank’

Are there any Scots words for the word snow?

No matter the type of snow, there is a Scots word for it. A few Scots examples include: The thesaurus is based on the content of the Dictionary of the Scots Language, but researchers are also appealing for members of the public to come forward with suggestions of words that have not yet been included.

Are there any Scots words for frozen precipitation?

The Historical Thesaurus of Scots does exist, and is a laudable project with both scholarly and popular cred, and the cited words for aspects of frozen precipitation are really in it.

How many words do the Inuit have for snow?

It is often said that the Inuit have 50 different words for snow. But at least it’s reported as something that “is often said”, rather than as a well-known fact.

Which is the Scottish word for a splinter?

The Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue agrees, with skelf n1 “A shelf”, an and also skelf n2 “a splinter, a sharp fragment of wood, stone, or metal”. The two words are apparently etymologically distinct (from OE and from Dutch), though perhaps ultimately related.