indian summer
/ˈɪn.di.ən ˈsʌ.mɚ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.74 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see Indian, summer.
Example Sentences
- "Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer."
- "And while the bards, before my fancy bring / The Indian ſummer, and Italian ſpring, / Rapt let me mark the different climates found, / In Temple's gardens, and his lawns around."
- "The gentlemen were still lounging on the gallery, fighting time with newspapers and cigars, for the Indian Summer kept up a charming pretense that Winter had forgotten to cross the water; […]"
- "There is sunshine in the face of all—a kind of Indian summer sunshine, infused with the sadness of a coming winter; and theirs is the winter of parting."
- "Truth be told, I enjoyed the earthquake of '89; […] It was a warm night, Indian summer. The whole city seemed to be out of doors. It was like an enormous block party, all the neighbors sitting on their stoops, drinking beer, listening to their radios."
- "Thus, while at times before our eye / The clouds about the present part, / And, smiling through them, round us lie / Soft hues of Memory's evening sky – / The Indian summer of the heart, / In secret sympathies of mind, / In founts of feeling which retain / Their pure fresh flow, we yet may find / Our early dreams not wholly vain!"
Etymology
Of North American origin, exact etymology uncertain. The most plausible suggestions are that Native Americans (or American Indians) called it a form of “summer” due to harvesting late plants or preparing for winter, or that European settlers coined it due to various Native American activities in this season, or due to the weather phenomenon being associated with regions inhabited by Native Americans. Alternatively, the use of the word Indian may indicate something deviating from the norm: compare terms like Indian bread, Indian corn.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɪn.di.ən ˈsʌ.mɚ/
- British English: /ˈɪn.dɪ.ən ˈsʌ.mə(ɹ)/