Granular snow that has been partially compressed but hasn't yet turned into solid glacial ice, found in high mountain areas.
From French 'névé,' derived from Latin 'nix' (snow); it's the intermediate stage in snow-to-ice transformation, and the French term became the scientific standard for this geological process.
Neve is like snow's awkward teenage phase—it's no longer fluffy snow but not quite ice yet—and studying how quickly snow becomes neve actually helps scientists predict glacier collapse and climate change impacts.
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