Wednesday's Word -- Blizzard

It is at times such as these, that those of us in the valley of the sunstroke can feel good about our geographic choice for an abode.

As I walked across the plaza from my parking garage to my office building this morning, the chilled wind took my breath away, and I admit I actually thought for a minute that I needed a tunnel like they have for pedestrians in Minneapolis.  And then I laughed at the thin-blooded-wimp I've become, and trudged on.  (In my defense, it was actually in the 30s here in Phoenix this morning!)  First item on my work agenda this morning was a telephone conference with participants calling in from a handful of cities across the country, including Chicago.  They were calling in from their homes and could not even get out the front door.  My parents in northeastern Ohio are also dealing with major snow and ice storm conditions.  I was a bit in awe to find that there is already a Wikipedia entry for "Ground Hog Day Blizzard of 2011."  It's already gone down in history, and the day isn't even over yet.  

So, all of this has me thinking about the origin of the word "blizzard."  The etymology of the word is uncertain, but some sources say it's an onomatopoeia, like other suggestive words blow, blast, blister, and bluster.  Others have suggested that blizzard might be related to the French word blesser, meaning "to wound."  That sounds about right to me!  Others have suggested that the Blizzard family of Buckinghamshire, England (who migrated to the U.S.) gave their name to the massive storms we now call blizzards.  Or blizzard might come from the English word "blizzer," which was once used to describe a knock-down fight (a "blizzard of blows"), a blaze, a shot, or choking.  Again, that's fitting.

The word blizzard was first used to describe a massive snowstorm back in the 1860s, and now we use it all the time.  As for me, I'll just ponder the word from the warmth of my desert existence.