- snowball (n.)
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[snowball 词源字典] - c. 1400, from snow (n.) + ball (n.1). Similar formation in West Frisian sniebal, Middle Dutch sneubal, German Schneeball, Danish snebold. Expression snowball's chance (in hell) "no chance" is recorded by 1910.[snowball etymology, snowball origin, 英语词源]
- snowball (v.)
![youdao](/etym/ico/youdao.ico)
![iciba](/etym/ico/iciba.ico)
![Dict](/etym/ico/haici.ico)
![YouDict](/etym/ico/youdict.ico)
- "to make snowballs," 1680s, from snowball (n.); sense of "to throw snowballs at" (someone) is from 1850. Meaning "to increase rapidly" is attested from 1929, though the image of a snowball increasing in size as it rolls along had been used since at least 1613, and a noun sense of "a pyramid scheme" is attested from 1892. Related: Snowballed; snowballing.