A figure made of compacted snow, typically consisting of three spherical sections and decorated with a face and accessories.
Compound of 'snow' (Old English snāw) + 'man' (Old English mann). The concept of snow figures appears in medieval manuscripts, but the specific three-sphere design became standardized during the Victorian era when it appeared in Christmas cards and literature.
The traditional three-sphere snowman design isn't universal—many cultures create different snow figures, and even the carrot nose is relatively recent, popularized by 19th-century Christmas cards. Interestingly, the largest snowman ever built was actually a snow-woman named 'Angus, King of the Mountain,' standing 122 feet tall in Maine in 1999.
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