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estival or aestival (ES-tuh-vuhl, e-STAY-vuhl) - adj., relating to, occurring in, or appropriate for summer.
Summery. One of my favorite words is estivation, the summer equivalent of hibernation or sleeping through winter, which is a valid strategy for surviving in a desert (such as where I live). In use in English since the 14th century, from Old French, from Latin aestīvālis, adjectival form of aestās, summer, which ultimately comes from PIE *h₂eydʰ-, fire/burn. Interestingly, the Old French/Middle English spelling was estival, with the aestival a more modern respelling to align with the original Latin.
---L.
Summery. One of my favorite words is estivation, the summer equivalent of hibernation or sleeping through winter, which is a valid strategy for surviving in a desert (such as where I live). In use in English since the 14th century, from Old French, from Latin aestīvālis, adjectival form of aestās, summer, which ultimately comes from PIE *h₂eydʰ-, fire/burn. Interestingly, the Old French/Middle English spelling was estival, with the aestival a more modern respelling to align with the original Latin.
---L.
