estival
/iːˈstaɪv(ə)l/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.32 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Coming forth in the summer.
Example Sentences
- "A horse, drawing a buggy, breaking his hollow iron music on the asphalt; a loud auto, a quiet auto; people in pairs, not in a hurry, scuffling, switching their weight of aestival body, talking casually; the taste hovering over them of vanilla, strawberry, pasteboard, and starched milk; the image upon them of lovers and horsemen, squared with clowns in hueless amber."
- "[…] begin now to redden in abundance on the trees, and continue throughout the month, and part of the next; more particulars of which will be found in our catalogue of aestival fruits. The birds now begin to be very active in devouring the fruits, ..."
- "To the first or aestival class must also be referred a small number of early spring flowerers, such as the Alyssums and Drabas."
- "Thalictrum purpurascens. Lactuca pulchella. Verbena stricta. The estival period begins about the tenth of June, and is characterized by the rapid diminution of the vernal bloomers rather than by the addition of the important estival flowers ."
- "On the other hand, many tropical flowers and a large number of estival flowers of temperate climates have more specialized structures, their nectar supply being hidden in spurs or at the base of long corolla tubes."
- "[…] were basking near men-of-the-earth (always a morning glory) and kiss-mes and kiss-me-quicks where she was sure to contract spring fever, vulnerable as she with her romanticist heart was to get it now that estival flowers […]"
Etymology
From Middle English estival, from Old French estival, from Latin aestivalis.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: estival, aestivalis
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /iːˈstaɪv(ə)l/
Inflected Forms
more estival (comparative)
most estival (superlative)
aestival (alternative)
æstival (alternative, archaic)