snowball

Meanings

Noun

• A ball of snow, usually one made in the hand and thrown for amusement in a snowball fight; also a larger ball of snow made by rolling a snowball around in snow that sticks to it and increases its diameter.
• A cocktail made from lemonade and advocaat.
• Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control).
• A sex act involving passing ejaculated semen from one person's mouth to another's.
• A type of ice dessert.
• A type of cake.

Adjective

• Of something with rapid growth, often uncontrolled. Compare snowball effect.

Verb

• To rapidly grow out of proportion or control.
• To play at throwing snowballs.
• To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at.
• (sexual slang) To receive ejaculated semen in one's mouth, and to then pass it back and forth between one’s mouth and another person’s mouth.

Origin

• From Middle English snoweball, snoweballe, snaweballe, snayballe, equivalent to snow + ball. Cognate with Scots snawbaw, German Schneeball, Luxembourgish Schnéiball, Dutch sneeuwbal, Afrikaans sneeubal, Limburgish snieëbal, West Frisian sniebal, Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, Sneebal, Swedish snöboll, Elfdalian sniųoboll, Danish snebold, Norwegian Bokmål snøball, Norwegian Nynorsk snøball and Icelandic snjóbolti.