sunburn
/ˈsʌnˌbɝn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.95 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A burn on the tissue of crop plants or their fruits (especially if they are rich in water like tomatoes, grapes, apples, gooseberries) caused by excess exposure to the sun's rays.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The neutral colours showed off her café au lait sunburn."
- "c. 1613, John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, London: D.N. and T.C., 1678, Act V, Scene 2, p. 64, I have brought Your grace a Salamanders skin, to keep you From sun-burning."
- "1724, Aaron Hill, The Plain Dealer, No. 81, 28 December, 1724, London: S. Richardson and A. Wilde, Volume 2, p. 199, […] there is a Country, in the World, call’d Turkey; where Women are secur’d against the Danger of Sun-burning, by being kept out of the open Air, and lock’d up, like other Jewels, in Places where no Mischief can reach ’em."
- "All foliage is necessary in Texas to keep the tomato fruit from sunburning."
- "My Aunt charg’d me not to pull off my Glove for fear of Sun-burning my hand."
- "As we crossed the Colorado-Utah border I saw God in the sky in the form of huge gold sunburning clouds above the desert […]"
Etymology
From Middle English *sunne burnen, *sonne brennen, *sunne brennen (suggested by derivatives sonne brennynge, sunne brennynge (“sunburn”, literally “sun-burning”) and sunne brente (“sunburnt”), equivalent to sun + burn. Compare West Frisian sinnebrân (“sunburn”), Dutch zonnebrand (“sunburn”), German Sonnenbrand (“sunburn”), Swedish solbränna (“sunburn”), and Icelandic sólbruni (“sunburn”), as well as Old English sunbryne (“sunburn”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsʌnˌbɝn/
- British English: /ˈsʌnˌbɜːn/