snowdrop
UK /ˈsnəʊ.dɹɒp/ · US /ˈsnoʊ.dɹɑp/ noun, verb
Forms snowdrops snowdropping snowdropped
- noun Any of the 20 species of the genus Galanthus of the Amaryllidaceae, bulbous flowering plants, bearing a solitary, pendulous, white, bell-shaped flower that appears, depending on species, between autumn and late winter or early spring, all native to temperate Eurasia.
- verb (Australia, slang, ambitransitive) To steal clothing (especially women's underwear) from a clothesline.
- noun (RAF slang) A Royal Air Force police officer.
Synonyms
Etymology
From snow + drop.
From the plant snowdrop. Named for the white-topped caps sported by NCOs and warrant officers in the Royal Air Force Police.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “snowdrop”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details