midsummer
/mɪdˈsʌmə(ɹ)/ noun, adjective, proper noun
Forms midsummers mid-summer
- noun The period around the summer solstice; around June 21st in the northern hemisphere.
- noun The first day of summer.
- noun The middle of summer.
- noun Midsummer Day, the English quarter day.
- noun A pagan holiday or Wiccan Sabbat.
- adjective Of or occurring in the middle of summer.
- proper noun A pagan holiday and Wiccan Sabbat.
- proper noun Synonym of Midsummer Day.
Synonyms
northern solstice St. John's Day summer solstice Midsummer Day Litha June 21
Etymology
From Middle English midsomer, midsumer, from Old English midsumer, midsumor (“midsummer”), from Proto-West Germanic *midisumar, from Proto-Germanic *midjasumaraz (“midsummer”), equivalent to mid- + summer. Cognate with West Frisian midsimmer (“midsummer”), Dutch midzomer (“midsummer”), German Mittsommer (“midsummer”), Danish midsommer (“midsummer”), Swedish midsommar (“midsummer”), Icelandic miðsumar (“midsummer”).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [AS. midsumor.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “midsummer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details