Thursday, December 02, 2010

First Snow

{yesterday morning; the skiff* of snow over my windshield}

*As I typed skiff I remembered that this is a word I grew up using for snow, but when I looked it up to be sure it had no such meaning. As I am a word nerd, I did further research and found this {here}:

The "skiff" you've heard your parents use, however, is a completely different word. "Skiff" meaning "a light gust of wind, a slight shower of rain, or a light dusting of snow" comes from the verb "to skiff," a word heard primarily in Scotland meaning "to touch lightly" or "to glide upon." The exact derivation of "skiff" in this sense is unclear, but it may well be related to "scuff" meaning "to brush against." In any case, "skiff" in this sense first appeared in English around 1819, though its use is probably much older in Scotland.

I'm quite sure no one but me cares. . .but there it is for what it's worth!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i love to look at words and find all the many meanings. interesting how you knew the right word for you..