Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
vernal
ver′nal
(vẽr′nal)
, Adj.
[L.
vernalis
, fr. vernus
vernal, ver
spring; akin to Gr. ἔαρ
, Skr. vasanta
, Icel. vār
, and E. Easter
, east
.] 1.
Of or pertaining to the spring; appearing in the spring;
as,
. vernal
bloomAnd purple all the ground with
vernal
flowers. Milton.
2.
Fig.: Belonging to youth, the spring of life.
When after the long
vernal
day of life. Thomson.
And seems it hard thy
Few
vernal
yearsFew
vernal
joys can show? Keble.
Vernal equinox
(Astron.)
, the point of time in each year when the sun crosses the equator when proceeding northward, about March 21, when day and night are of approximately equal duration. The beginning of the Spring season.
– Vernal grass
(Bot.)
, a low, soft grass (
– Anthoxanthum odoratum
), producing in the spring narrow spikelike panicles, and noted for the delicious fragrance which it gives to new-mown hay; – also called sweet vernal grass
. See Illust. in Appendix. Vernal signs
(Astron.)
, the signs, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini, in which the sun appears between the vernal equinox and summer solstice.
Webster 1828 Edition
Vernal
VER'NAL
,Adj.
1.
Belonging to the spring; appearing in spring; as vernal bloom.Vernal flowers are preparatives to autumnal fruits.
2.
Belonging to youth, the spring of life.Vernal signs, the signs in which the sun appears in the spring.
Vernal equinox, the equinox in spring or March; opposed to the autumnal equnox, in September.
Definition 2024
Vernal
vernal
vernal
See also: Vernal
English
Alternative forms
- vernall (archaic, 16th–17th-century spelling)[1]
Adjective
vernal (comparative more vernal, superlative most vernal)
- Pertaining to spring.
- Young; fresh. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- Belonging to youth.
- Thomson
- when after the long vernal day of life
- Keble
- And seems it hard thy vernal years / Few vernal joys can show?
- Thomson
Usage notes
In everyday speech, used almost exclusively in phrase vernal equinox; in other contexts, spring is used attributively, as in spring colors or spring flowers, and even vernal equinox is frequently replaced with spring equinox.
Antonyms
Coordinate terms
- (pertaining to seasons): summer (summery), aestival/estival; autumn, fall, autumnal; winter (wintry), hibernal, brumal
Derived terms
Terms derived from vernal
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Related terms
Translations
pertaining to spring
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 “vernal, a. (and n.)” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
- 1 2 3 4 “vernal” listed in the Online Etymology Dictionary, © November 2001 Douglas Harper
- 1 2 3 “vernal” listed in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
- 1 2 3 “vernal” listed by Dictionary.com Unabridged (v1·1)
- ↑ “vernal” listed in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition