winter
/ˈwɪntə/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms winters wintering wintered Wintour
- noun Traditionally the fourth of the four seasons, typically regarded as spanning either the period between the winter solstice to the spring equinox, or the months of December, January, and February in temperate and polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere and the months of June, July, and August in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the time when the sun is lowest in the sky, resulting in short days, and the time of year with the lowest atmospheric temperatures for the region.
- noun (figuratively, poetic) The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.
- noun (countable, fashion) Someone with dark skin, eyes and hair, seen as best suited to certain colors of clothing.
- noun (obsolete) An appliance to be fixed on the front of a grate, to keep a kettle warm, etc.
- noun (India, archaic) The rainy season.
- verb (intransitive) To spend the winter (in a particular place).
- verb (transitive) To store something (for instance animals) somewhere over winter to protect it from cold.
- proper noun (countable) A surname from the Germanic languages.
- proper noun (countable) A unisex given name.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in the Rural Municipality of Senlac, No. 411, Saskatchewan, Canada.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States.
- proper noun A small town and village in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States.
- proper noun The personification of winter, wintertime.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English winter, from Old English winter, from Proto-West Germanic *wintru, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz (“winter”). Cognate with West Frisian winter (“winter”), Dutch winter (“winter”), German Winter (“winter”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vinter (“winter”), Faroese and Icelandic vetur (“winter”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The season of the year in which the sun shines most obliquely upon any region; the coldest season of the year. "Of thirty winter he was old." Chaucer.
- noun The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.
- verb To pass the winter; to hibernate; as, to winter in Florida.
- verb To keep, feed or manage, during the winter; as, to winter young cattle on straw.
Etymology [AS. winter; akin to OFries. & D. winter, OS. & OHG. wintar, G. winter, D. & Sw. vinter, Icel. vetr, Goth. wintrus; of uncertain origin; cf. Old Gallic vindo- white (in comp.), OIr. find white. 1. The season of the year in which the sun shines most obliquely upon any region; the coldest season of the year. "Of thirty winter he was old." Chaucer. And after summer evermore succeeds Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold. Shak. Winter lingering chills the lap of May. Goldsmith. Note: North of the equator, winter is popularly taken to include the months of December, January, and February (see Season). Astronomically, it may be considered to begin with the winter solstice, about December 21st, and to end with the vernal equinox, about March 21st. 2. The period of decay, old age, death, or the like. Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge. Wordsworth. Winter apple, an apple that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter. -- Winter barley, a kind of barley that is sown in autumn. -- Winter berry (Bot.), the name of several American shrubs (Ilex verticillata, I. lævigata, etc.) of the Holly family, having bright red berries conspicuous in winter. -- Winter bloom. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Azalea. (b) A plant of the genus Hamamelis (H. Viginica); witch-hazel; -- so called from its flowers appearing late in autumn, while the leaves are falling. -- Winter bud (Zoöl.), a statoblast. -- Winter cherry (Bot.), a plant (Physalis Alkekengi) of the Nightshade ]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “winter”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details