snowflake means A crystal of snow, having approximate hexagonal symmetry.
snowflake is pronounced /ˈsnəʊ.fleɪk/.
Why “snowflake” is a great word
A single, small crystal of snow, typically exhibiting a hexagonal structure. From snow (from Old English snāw) and flake (from Old Norse flakna, 'to flake off'), first recorded in 1725–35. Unlike sleet, which is a slurry of rain and half-melted ice, or hail, a hard, layered pellet formed in violent updrafts, a snowflake is a discrete, intricate architecture of frozen vapor. It is a perfect, branching dendrite caught on a woolen sleeve, a fleeting asterisk against a dark windowpane, or the cold, geometric lacework that vanishes upon the slightest touch—a testament to the brief, beautiful order that precipitates from chaos.
Etymology
From snow + flake. Compare Saterland Frisian Sneeflokke (“snowflake”), Dutch sneeuwvlok, Luxembourgish Schnéiflack, German Schneeflocke.
noun
- A crystal of snow, having approximate hexagonal symmetry.
- Any of several bulbous European plants, of the genus Leucojum, having white flowers.
- The snow bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis.
- Someone who believes they are particularly unique and special.
- Someone hypersensitive to insult or offense, especially a young person with politically correct sensibilities.e.g.“When have words ever hurt anyone? The triggered snowflakes at this liberal university are trying to literally murder our freedom of speech.” — 2017, Dylan Kyle, quoted in "Campus Voices", The Mugdown (Texas A&M University), August 2017, page 15
- A type of lesion that appears as scattered white-brown spots under high magnification light microscopy.e.g.“Robertson and colleagues reported 10 patients in four families with lesions similar to those of stage I and stage II snowflake generation.” — 2007, Kenneth W. Wright, Peter H. Spiegel, Lisa Thompson, Handbook of Pediatric Retinal Disease, →ISBN, page 195:
- Something that is unique in every presentation.e.g.“MS is referred to as a “snowflake” disease because symptoms vary from person to person.” — 2016 July 14, Sara Schabe, Krysten Massa, “North Fork native begins stem cell treatment to battle MS”, in Suffolk Times:
- A Caucasian person.e.g.“Alright, snowflake, where's the dope?” — 2009, Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, Scott Sanders, Black Dynamite (motion picture), spoken by Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White):
- Someone (usually white) who was opposed to the abolition of slavery (Missouri, 1860s)
verb
- To fall in the manner of a snowflake.e.g.“Like a seagull swooping, the white figure of a victim snowflaked against the cliff and then plummeted down.” — 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 143:
- To arrange (data) into a snowflake schema.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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