estival

American  

[es-tuh-vuhl, e-stahy-vuhl] / ˈɛs tə vəl, ɛˈstaɪ vəl /

adjective

1. pertaining or appropriate to summer.

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estival British  

/ iːˈstaɪvəl, ˈɛstɪ- /

adjective

1. the usual US spelling of aestival

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Other Word Forms

• preestival adjective

Etymology

Origin of estival

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin aestīvālis, equivalent to Latin aestīv(us) “of or relating to summer” + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

Estival means "summery." When a sunny day in April has an estival feel to it, it's one of those days that seems so much like summer that you might be tempted to go barefoot. The adjective estival is rarely used, and it's usually found in formal or technical writing. However, there's no reason not to use it when you want to describe something that has to do with summer, like a blue estival sky. Estival comes from the Latin word aestus, or "heat." There are equivalent adjectives for the other seasons, too — autumnal for autumn, hibernal for winter, and vernal for spring.

Example Sentences

The adjective estival is used to refer to which season of the year?

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2024

No one writes about brutish people like Gallant; she transforms the meanest human specimens into subjects of high fascination and sympathy, which makes her excellent reading for overheated estival subway commutes.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 17, 2015

Always barring some sudden eruption, the U.S. is once again in an estival moment of lassitude and languishing spirits.

From Time Magazine Archive

A man of the right temperament gains greatly by a temporary estival transplantation; and if Johnny always contrived to seem dominant and prosperous at home, he now seemed lordly and triumphant abroad.

From On the Stairs by Fuller, Henry Blake

As he stood beside the bridal pair he seemed almost too festive, too estival, too ebullient for this poor earth of ours.

From On the Stairs by Fuller, Henry Blake