Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A single flake or crystal of snow.
- noun Any of several bulbous perennial plants of the genus Leucojum, native to Europe, having nodding white bell-shaped flowers.
- noun A snow bunting.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The sweet-william, Dianthus barbatus.
- noun   A small feathery mass or flake of falling snow. See snow , n., 1.
- noun   In ornithology, same as snow-bunting. Coues .
- noun A plant of the genus Leucoium, chiefly L. æstivum (the summer snowflake), and L. vernum (the spring Snowflake).
- noun A particular pattern of weaving certain woolen cloths, by which small knots are produced upon the face, which, when of light color, resemble a sprinkling of snow.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A flake, or small filmy mass, of snow.
- noun (Zoöl.)  See Snowbird , 1.
- noun (Bot.)  A name given to several bulbous plants of the genus Leucoium (L. vernum ,æstivum , etc.) resembling the snowdrop, but having all the perianth leaves of equal size.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun white Arctic bunting
- noun a crystal of snow
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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								In a couple of days I may go ahead and explain how the snowflake is a dangerous icon of a nature goddess and brainwashes children. Making Trouble in the Holiday Season joshenglish 2009 
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								For example, a snowflake is a highly-structured, nearly fractal, characteristically hexagonal lattice of ice. 
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								For example, a snowflake is a highly-structured, nearly fractal, characteristically hexagonal lattice of ice. 
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								Even if we assume that everyone's fingerprints are different without having actually proved it -- just as we assume that every snowflake is different -- mistakes can be made when comparing a small partial poorly formed fingerprint to a full set of prints carefully made on a special card. Linda Kenney Baden: Conviction: Unvalidated Science in the Courtroom Linda Kenney Baden 2010 
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								Even if we assume that everyone's fingerprints are different without having actually proved it -- just as we assume that every snowflake is different -- mistakes can be made when comparing a small partial poorly formed fingerprint to a full set of prints carefully made on a special card. Linda Kenney Baden: Conviction: Unvalidated Science in the Courtroom Linda Kenney Baden 2010 
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								Parents that have the nerve to name their babies Chanel, Cinnamon or Diamond may as well go full hog and give the kid an eight-ball and some Val-U-Rite vodka, because let's face it, the only job their little snowflake is going to get in life involves sliding down a pole for drunken slobs. 
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								Still, I think it shows fairly well - this is a single snowflake from a roll panto. Quilting despite everything... katelnorth 2006 
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								Still, I think it shows fairly well - this is a single snowflake from a roll panto. Archive 2006-11-01 katelnorth 2006 
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								If you simply look at the positions of the water molecules before and after, a snowflake is * wildly* improbable, and a blizzard defies belief. 
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								As my awkward paraphrase of an old Zen story puts it, one snowflake is insignificant, but with enough of them you get a blizzard, or an ice age. inkblurt · Shared Information Environment: let’s unpack that, shall we? 2002 
rolig commented on the word snowflake
The flower in spring: Leucojum vernum
February 29, 2008