Estival
adjective /ɛˈstaɪvəl/ — Of summer — belonging to the warmest season.
Definition
Of or relating to summer; happening in or associated with the summer season.
Beyond the definition
Where vernal belongs to spring's beginning, estival belongs to summer's fullness. It describes the particular quality of long days, heavy warmth, and the specific light that belongs only to July and August. Writers use it for the sensory excess of summer: heat, buzzing insects, fruit that yields immediately.
Origin & history
From Latin aestivalis, from aestivus 'of summer', from aestas 'summer'. Related to estivate (to spend the summer in a dormant state, as some animals do in heat) — the counterpart to hibernate.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The garden had an estival fullness — everything blooming at once, bees drunk on the warmth.
That estival afternoon stretched for hours, the light refusing to fade before nine.
There is an estival quality to certain music: Beach Boys in the 1960s, summer at its most itself.
How to use it
This entry uses an adjective. Follow the examples for the nouns it describes and its position in the sentence.
Choose “Estival” when the meaning fits your context: Of or relating to summer; happening in or associated with the summer season.
Synonyms
summery, midsummer, warm-season
Antonyms
Related words
Questions about this word
What does "Estival" mean?
Estival is adjective meaning: Of summer — belonging to the warmest season.. Of or relating to summer; happening in or associated with the summer season.
Where does the word "Estival" come from?
From Latin aestivalis, from aestivus 'of summer', from aestas 'summer'. Related to estivate (to spend the summer in a dormant state, as some animals do in heat) — the counterpart to hibernate.