SNOW

SNOW. " Snow is the same name as that of an old, pel haps a mythical, king of Denmark. Some old German names are compounded with it; and perhaps Snowball may be of similar origin — bald or hall, bold." Ferguson. I am disposed, however, to refer Snowball to the same class as Peppercorn, Pluckrose, PuUrose, &c., as derived from old feudal tenures. Blount records the holding of certain lands by the jjayment of " one red rose at Chri.itmas, and one snowhall at Slidsummer,'' which in the old unluxurious days, before conservatories and ice-houses were invented, must have caused the tenant many an anxious thought as to the means of " raising his rent."

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.