blizzard

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˈblɪz.əːd/
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• Received-Pronunciation: [ˈbl̥ɪz.əːd]
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• General-American: /ˈblɪz.ɚd/
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• General-American: [ˈbl̥ɪz.ɚd] ~ [ˈbl̥ɪz.ɹ̩d]
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ɪzə(ɹ)d
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• CMU ARPABET: B L IH1 Z ER0 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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Altered form of Blissett, under the influence of the word blizzard.

Unknown, with various theories as below. Compare English blizz (“violent rainstorm”), dialectal English bliz (“violent blow”); one etymology, from Midlands English dialect, seems to be ultimately from Old English blysa (“blaze”). Etymology theories * The earliest written use of blizzard as a term to describe a severe snowstorm, spelled blizard, was in the Estherville, Iowa's Northern Vindicator on 23 April 1870. O.C. Bates, neologistic editor of the Northern Vindicator, used it for the terrific snowstorms in the state that spring. He claimed he had picked up the term from locals characterizing a "Lightning Ellis", on account of his violent outbursts. One week later it appeared again in the same newspaper, only with the now-common double-z spelling. * Blizzard possibly comes from the surname "Blizzard" dating back to 1700s(?). Blizzard surname possibly comes from the blizzard one, dating back to the 1500s(?). * The word blizzard was used (not in relation to the weather) in America prior to 1870. It had various, roughly associated, now obsolete meanings: : Blast with a firearm or cannon (whether one or multiple bullets or pellets uncertain) : Verbal blast : Blast with a firearm or cannon (single ball or bullet): : Blazing fire : Heavy or painful physical blow (not involving a firearm) : Literal or figurative attack : Exclamation (like “the blazes” or “blue blazes") : Blast with multiple firearms or with a firearm loaded with multiple pellets : Shot of liquor * Probably from the German blitzartig (“very fast, like lightning”) * Another version suggests French blesser (to wound), but neither this nor the German can be substantiated. Yet another claims that blizzard derives from English dialect blizzer, meaning "a blaze" or "flash" ("Put towthry sticks on th' fire, an' let's have a blizzer," - The English Dialect Dictionary) or from blazer (something that blazes or blasts), which gave the early sense "a volley of firing guns," that is, a general "blazing away." * Thomas Ratcliffe of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in the March 17, 1888, edition BLIZZARD (7th S. v. 106).—The word blizzard is well known through the Midlands, and its cognates are fairly numerous. I have known the word and its kin fully thirty years. Country folk use the word to denote blazing, blasting, blinding, dazzling, or stifling. One who has had to face a severe storm of snow, hail, rain, dust, or wind, would say on reaching shelter that he has "faced a blizzer," or that the storm was "a regular blizzard." A blinding flash of lightning would call forth the exclamation, "My! that wor a blizzomer!" or "That wor a blizzer!" "Put towthry sticks on th' fire, an let's have a blizzer"—a blaze. "A good blizzom" = a good blaze. "That tree is blizzared" = blasted, withered. As an oath the word is often used, and "May I be blizzerded" will be readily understood. * A check of some of the Midlands regional glossaries printed in the 1800s finds several entries for blizzy. First, from Anne Baker, Glossary of Northamptonshire words and phrases (1854): BLIZZY. A blaze. "Blow the fire, and let's have a nice blizzy." This, though now considered a vulgarism, is a retention of the original A.-Sax. blysa, a blaze. And Angelina Parker, A Glossary of Words Used in Oxfordshire (1876): Blizzy, a flaring fire produced by putting on small sticks. Ex. 'Let's 'a a bit of a blizzy afore us goes to bed.' And from Barzillai Lowsley, A Glossary of Berkshire Words and Phrases (1888): BLIZZY.— A blaze. The fire is said to be all of a "blizzy" when pieces of wood have been inserted amongst the coal to make it burn cheerfully. And from G. F. Northall, A Warwickshire Word-book (1896): Blizzy, sb. A blaze, a blast, a flare of fire. A.-Sax. blysa, a blaze. Common. They suggest that blizzy survived from the ancient word blysa in numerous localities and might well share a root with the U.S. blizzard.

138 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: عَاصِفَة ثَلْجِيَّة (ʕāṣifa ṯaljiyya) — severe snowstorm
• Arabic: دَمَق (damaq) — severe snowstorm
• Armenian: ձնաբուք (jnabukʻ) — severe snowstorm
• Azerbaijani: çovğun — severe snowstorm
• Azerbaijani: boran — severe snowstorm
• Bashkir: буран (buran) — severe snowstorm
• Basque: bisuts — severe snowstorm
• Belarusian: мяце́ліца (mjacjélica) — severe snowstorm
• Belarusian: бура́н (burán) — severe snowstorm
• Belarusian: віхура (vixura) — severe snowstorm
• Bulgarian: вие́лица (viélica) — severe snowstorm
• Bulgarian: фърту́на (fǎrtúna) — severe snowstorm
• Catalan: torb — severe snowstorm
• Catalan: rufaga — severe snowstorm
• Chinese Mandarin: 暴風雪 /暴风雪 (bàofēngxuě) — severe snowstorm
• Chinese Mandarin: 大風雪 /大风雪 (dàfēngxuě) — severe snowstorm
• Chinese Mandarin: 雪災 /雪灾 (xuězāi) — severe snowstorm
• Czech: blizard — severe snowstorm
• Czech: sněhová bouře — severe snowstorm
• Czech: sněhová vichřice — severe snowstorm
• Czech: vánice — severe snowstorm
• Czech: metelice — severe snowstorm
• Danish: snestorm — severe snowstorm
• Dutch: sneeuwjacht — severe snowstorm
• Estonian: lumetorm — severe snowstorm
• Faroese: kavaódn — severe snowstorm
• Finnish: myräkkä — severe snowstorm
• Finnish: lumimyrsky — severe snowstorm
• Finnish: pyry — severe snowstorm
• French: blizzard — severe snowstorm
• Galician: corisco — severe snowstorm
• Galician: calistro — severe snowstorm
• Galician: escarabana — severe snowstorm
• Galician: cebrisca — severe snowstorm
• Georgian: ქარბუქი (karbuki) — severe snowstorm
• Georgian: თოვლბუქი (tovlbuki) — severe snowstorm
• Georgian: თოვლ-ქარბუქი (tovl-karbuki) — severe snowstorm
• German: Schneesturm — severe snowstorm
• German: Blizzard — severe snowstorm
• Greek: χιονοθύελλα (chionothýella) — severe snowstorm
• Ancient Greek: νιφετός (niphetós) — severe snowstorm
• Hindi: हिम आँधी (him āndhī) — severe snowstorm
• Hindi: हिमाँधी (himāndhī) — severe snowstorm
• Hungarian: hóvihar — severe snowstorm
• Hungarian: hófúvás — severe snowstorm
• Hungarian: hóförgeteg — severe snowstorm
• Icelandic: hríðarbylur — severe snowstorm
• Ido: nivegoza tempesto — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: myrsky — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: tuisku — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: pyry — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: lumipyry — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: lumisää — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: lumituisku — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: alasvaahto — severe snowstorm
• Ingrian: lumitormi — severe snowstorm
• Irish: síobadh sneachta — severe snowstorm
• Italian: tormenta — severe snowstorm
• Japanese: 猛吹雪 (mōfubuki) — severe snowstorm
• Kannada: ಹಿಮಪಾತ (himapāta) — severe snowstorm
• Kazakh: боран (boran) — severe snowstorm
• Korean: 눈보라 (nunbora) — severe snowstorm
• Central Kurdish: کِڕێوە (kirrêwe) — severe snowstorm
• Kyrgyz: бороон (boroon) — severe snowstorm
• Latin: nigor — severe snowstorm
• Latin: ningor — severe snowstorm
• Latvian: sniegputenis — severe snowstorm
• Lithuanian: pūga — severe snowstorm
• Macedonian: лу́ња (lúnja) — severe snowstorm
• Macedonian: сне́жна бу́ра (snéžna búra) — severe snowstorm
• Macedonian: форту́на (fortúna) — severe snowstorm
• Māori: huka kairākau — severe snowstorm
• Mongolian: цасан шуурга (casan šuurga) — severe snowstorm
• Navajo: chííl bił hááyoł — severe snowstorm
• Norwegian: snøstorm — severe snowstorm
• Persian: کولاک (kulâk) — severe snowstorm
• Persian: بوران (burân) — severe snowstorm
• Polish: zamieć — severe snowstorm
• Polish: zadymka — severe snowstorm
• Polish: śnieżyca — severe snowstorm
• Portuguese: nevão — severe snowstorm
• Portuguese: nevasca — severe snowstorm
• Romanian: viscol — severe snowstorm
• Romanian: vifor — severe snowstorm
• Russian: бура́н (burán) — severe snowstorm
• Russian: пурга́ (purgá) — severe snowstorm
• Russian: вью́га (vʹjúga) — severe snowstorm
• Russian: мете́ль (metélʹ) — severe snowstorm
• Russian: сне́жная бу́ря (snéžnaja búrja) — severe snowstorm
• Russian: мете́лица (metélica) — severe snowstorm
• Scottish Gaelic: cathadh — severe snowstorm
• Scottish Gaelic: cathadh-sneachda — severe snowstorm
• Serbo-Croatian: мѐћава — severe snowstorm
• Serbo-Croatian: mèćava — severe snowstorm
• Shor: поран — severe snowstorm
• Slovak: blizard — severe snowstorm
• Slovak: metelica — severe snowstorm
• Slovak: snehová búrka — severe snowstorm
• Slovene: blizzard — severe snowstorm
• Slovene: snežni vihar — severe snowstorm
• Spanish: ventisca — severe snowstorm
• Spanish: tempestad de nieve — severe snowstorm
• Spanish: tormenta nival — severe snowstorm
• Spanish: tormenta nívea — severe snowstorm
• Swedish: snöstorm — severe snowstorm
• Swedish: snöoväder — severe snowstorm
• Tajik: бӯрон (büron) — severe snowstorm
• Tatar: буран (buran) — severe snowstorm
• Thai: พายุหิมะ (paa-yú-hì-má) — severe snowstorm
• Tibetan: ཁངས་ཁྱག (khangs khyag) — severe snowstorm
• Turkish: tipi — severe snowstorm
• Turkmen: syrgyn — severe snowstorm
• Ukrainian: заметі́ль (zametílʹ) — severe snowstorm
• Ukrainian: бура́н (burán) — severe snowstorm
• Ukrainian: пурга́ (purhá) — severe snowstorm
• Ukrainian: завірю́ха (zavirjúxa) — severe snowstorm
• Uyghur: شىۋىرغان (shiwirghan) — severe snowstorm
• Uzbek: boʻron — severe snowstorm
• Uzbek: izgʻirin — severe snowstorm
• Welsh: lluwchwynt — severe snowstorm
• Yiddish: זאַווערוכע (zaverukhe) — severe snowstorm
• Finnish: vuori — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Greek: χαρτομάνι (chartománi) — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Italian: montagna — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Italian: marea — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Polish: nawał — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Polish: nawała — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Portuguese: montanha — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Portuguese: monte — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Russian: лави́на (lavína) — figuratively: large amount of paperwork
• Finnish: vyöry — large number of similar things
• Greek: θύελλα (thýella) — large number of similar things
• Polish: nawał — large number of similar things
• Polish: nawała — large number of similar things
• Finnish: pyryttää — of snow, to fall in windy conditions
• Galician: coriscar — of snow, to fall in windy conditions
• Galician: escarabanar — of snow, to fall in windy conditions
• Ingrian: tuisata — of snow, to fall in windy conditions