SNOWFLAKE

snowflake, flake

(noun) a crystal of snow

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

snowflake (plural snowflakes)

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.

(slang, pejorative) Someone who believes they are as unique and special as a snowflake.

(slang, pejorative) Someone hypersensitive to insult or offense, especially a young person with politically correct sensibilities.

Someone (usually white) who was opposed to the abolition of slavery (Missouri, 1860s)

(ophthalmology) A type of lesion that appears as scattered white-brown spots under high magnification light microscopy.

Something that is unique in every presentation.

(slang, usually, derogative) A Caucasian person.

Usage notes

The pejorative sense of "an overly sensitive person" arose from a still-common misconception that no two snowflakes are alike. "Snowflake" as a derogatory term was popularized by its use in the 1996 novel Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk (see quotation above), but the insult had existed for a significant amount of time prior to this, although not in popular use. In recent years, the meaning has expanded from "a person who believes they are unique" to also denote someone who is too sensitive and is easily offended, based on conceptions of snowflakes' fragility and weakness.

Verb

snowflake (third-person singular simple present snowflakes, present participle snowflaking, simple past and past participle snowflaked)

To fall in the manner of a snowflake.

(computing, databases) To arrange (data) into a snowflake schema.

Anagrams

• flowsnake

Source: Wiktionary


Snow"flake`, n.

1. A flake, or small filmy mass, of snow.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: See Snowbird, 1.

3. (Bot.)

Definition: A name given to several bulbous plants of the genus Leucoium (L. vernum, æstivum, etc.) resembling the snowdrop, but having all the perianth leaves of equal size.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

9 June 2025

HERMAPHRODITE

(noun) one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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