estival
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
The crouptière and estival, together with the chanfron, were of the most costly description.
From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 by Roby, John
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
