Snowplows

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of vehicle equipped with a blade for clearing snow from roads or pathways
2. Tools used in snow removal operations to maintain safe travel conditions
3. Machines designed specifically for pushing snow aside, aiding in winter maintenance and accessibility

Etymology: "Snowplows" is the plural of "snowplow," a noun, though the source describes it as a third-person singular verb form, so the plural reading here is the noun's. The noun is a plain compound of "snow" and "plow," the two words joined directly, with the American spelling "plow" standing in for the British "plough." The sense is literal from the start: a device that clears snow from a road or path by pushing it to one side. The "plow" half is the older and more interesting component. It descends from the Old English "plōg," a word for the farming implement that turns over soil, and the same root gave the British "plough." When the snow version was formed, the new machine borrowed the familiar name of the tool that cut through earth, so a snowplow is essentially a plough drawn across white ground instead of a field.

Synonyms: plows, snow removers