summer

¹

[ suhm-er ]

noun

1. the season between spring and autumn, in the Northern Hemisphere from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox, and in the Southern Hemisphere from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox.
2. the period comprising the months of June, July, and August in the United States, and from the middle of May to the middle of August in Great Britain.
3. a period of hot, usually sunny weather:

   We had no real summer last year.

4. the hotter half of the year ( winter ):

   They spend the summers in New Hampshire and the winters in Florida.

5. the period of finest development, perfection, or beauty previous to any decline:

   the summer of life.

6. a whole year as represented by this season:

   a girl of fifteen summers.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of summer:

   Iced tea is a summer drink.

2. appropriate for or done during the summer:

   summer clothes;

   summer sports.

3. having the weather or warmth of summer:

   summer days in late October.

verb (used without object)

1. to spend or pass the summer:

   They summered in Maine.

verb (used with object)

1. to keep, feed, or manage during the summer:

   Sheep are summered in high pastures.

2. to make summerlike.

summer

²

[ suhm-er ]

noun

1. a principal beam or girder, as one running between girts to support joists.
2. a stone laid upon a pier, column, or wall, from which one or more arches spring: usually molded or otherwise treated like the arch or arches springing from it.
3. a beam or lintel.

summer

¹

/ ˈsʌmə /

noun

1. Also calledsummer tree a large horizontal beam or girder, esp one that supports floor joists
2. another name for lintel
3. a stone on the top of a column, pier, or wall that supports an arch or lintel

summer

²

/ ˈsʌmə /

noun

1. sometimes capital
   1. the warmest season of the year, between spring and autumn, astronomically from the June solstice to the September equinox in the N hemisphere and at the opposite time of year in the S hemisphere
   2. ( as modifier ) aestival

      summer flowers

      a summer dress

2. the period of hot weather associated with the summer
3. a time of blossoming, greatest happiness, etc
4. poetic.
   a year represented by this season

   a child of nine summers

verb

1. intr to spend the summer (at a place)
2. tr to keep or feed (farm animals) during the summer

   they summered their cattle on the mountain slopes

Derived Forms

• ˈsummer-ˌlike, adjective
• ˈsummeriness, noun
• ˈsummery, adjective
• ˈsummerless, adjective
• ˈsummerly, adjectiveadverb

Other Words From

• summer·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of summer¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English somer, Old English sumor; cognate with Dutch zomer, German Sommer, Old Norse sumar “summer”; akin to Sanskrit sámā “season, half-year, year,” Old Irish sam-, Old Welsh ham, Welsh haf “summer”

Origin of summer²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English somer, from Anglo-French; Old French somier “packhorse, beam,” from unattested Vulgar Latin saumārius, equivalent to Latin sagm(a) “packsaddle” (from Greek ságma ) + -ārius noun suffix; -ary, -er ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of summer¹

C14: from Anglo-Norman somer, from Old French somier beam, packhorse, from Late Latin sagmārius ( equus ) pack(horse), from sagma a packsaddle, from Greek

Origin of summer²

Old English sumor; related to Old Frisian sumur, Old Norse sumar, Old High German sumar, Sanskrit samā season

Example Sentences

Our summers are longer which means that conditions are hotter, they’re drier, and that makes us more susceptible to wildfires.

From Vox

Nikola did not address Fortune’s questions about Hindenburg’s specific claims, including questions about whether the truck shown in the 2018 video was moving under its own power, or who Nikola’s battery development partners were by summer 2020.

From Fortune

Labor Day weekend, the last official weekend of summer, isn’t typically the biggest movie weekend of the year.

From Vox

U-pick typically accounts for 60 percent of business for the 28-year-old farm, and the summer high season has been going well.

From Eater

In the summer of 2019, suppliers were preparing to make components for as many as 75 million handsets.

From Fortune

I actually downloaded the app last summer and was embarrassed because none of my friends seemed to use it.

From The Daily Beast

Pitchfork called him a “a rap-obsessed misfit from a summer camp who freestyles poorly” who is “ridiculous without knowing it.”

From The Daily Beast

Last summer, I spoke with first black supermodel Beverly Johnson about this for The Root.

From The Daily Beast

Last summer, Louisiana also banned non-legal adoption, with offenders facing a penalty of $5,000 and up to five years in prison.

From The Daily Beast

Miller traces his irreverent and subversive streak to a psychedelic experience during the particularly sweltering summer of 1991.

From The Daily Beast

Edna did not reveal so much as all this to Madame Ratignolle that summer day when they sat with faces turned to the sea.

From Project Gutenberg

And this summer it seemed to her that she never would be able to take proper care of her nestful of children.

From Project Gutenberg

The year before they had spent part of the summer with their grandmother Pontellier in Iberville.

From Project Gutenberg

Of course, most specimens are probably taken up in the summer when the handsome foliage attracts the eye.

From Project Gutenberg

In a general way the fronds are best collected during the summer and autumn, when they will, of course, be well developed.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• summertime
• vacation