hibernal
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of hibernal
First recorded in 1620–30; from Late Latin hībernālis, equivalent to Latin hībern(us) “wintry” (akin to hiems “winter”) + -ālis, adjective suffix; see origin at hiemal, -al 1;
Explanation
Use the adjective hibernal to describe something that has to do with winter, like a grizzly bear's cozy hibernal cave. You can talk about anything wintry as being hibernal — like the snow-covered hibernal woods — but it most often describes an animal that hibernates during the coldest months. For example, a chipmunk's long, deep winter nap can be called a hibernal sleep. The root of hibernal is the Latin word hibernalis, which means "wintry," from the root hiems, "winter."
Vocabulary lists containing hibernal
Celestial Words To Mark The Winter Solstice
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Chill Out! Synonyms for "Cold"
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Strange the Dreamer
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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.
This all helps explain that despite the striking contrast between a largely unaffected Australian summer and the hibernal catastrophes unfolding elsewhere, there is little hubris.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 6, 2021
In 2009, Serge Lutens released Fille en Aiguilles, a cult hit that smells like a Christmas tree farm, and slowly the hibernal trend began to trickle through the indie perfume world.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2018
It turns out to be a swell place for a hibernal vacation.
From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2016
The people who stage the Millrose Games, an indoor track meet that has been an annual hibernal rite in the Big Apple since 1908, understand the quandary.
From Newsweek ● Feb. 13, 2015
If the hibernal lethargy be observed, both in cold-blooded and in hot-blooded animals, we shall be less surprised to learn, that these two classes furnish alike examples of a summer-sleep.
From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 2 by Alexander von Humboldt
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.
