dogwood winter

noun

, South Midland and Southern U.S.

1. a short period of cold weather in the spring.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dogwood winter¹

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

The loss of terms like “dogwood winter” is a casualty of urbanization.

From Scientific American

I had never heard of dogwood winter or even noticed if a cold snap accompanied the blooming of dogwood trees outside my childhood home in Maryland.

From Scientific American

In other words, our lives tend to be less linked to the rural ecosystem which the existence of “dogwood winter” depends on.

From Scientific American

Still, “dogwood winter,” “mud season,” “gray Goldenrod,” and “purple coneflower” have much to say about where we come from—and where we might go in the “Anthropocene.”

From Scientific American

A professor of mine—a photographer with a zoology degree—introduced me to the term “dogwood winter,” a brief cold snap that interrupts the warming spring weather.

From Scientific American