Summer and Winter Are the Oldest Season Names
Summer is the warmest season. It and winter kept their ancient Germanic names, while spring and autumn were renamed.
Summer is the warmest season of the year. It is one of only two season names English kept from its Germanic ancestors: early Germanic peoples divided the year into two halves rather than four, so *summer* and *winter* are ancient while *spring* and *autumn* are later replacements. Old English even counted years in winters, which is where *a man of forty winters* comes from.
- The warm season. *A wet summer.*
- Summery — like summer. *A summery dress.*
- Indian summer — warm weather late in the year. *An Indian summer in October.*
- Summer house — a garden building. *Tea in the summer house.*
- Midsummer — the height of the season. *Midsummer's Day.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | summer | Late summer. |
| Plural | summers | Three summers. |
| Adjective | summery | Summery weather. |
| Verb | summer | They summer in Devon. |
| Compound | midsummer | Midsummer night. |
- We spent the summer on the coast.The season.
- A man of forty winters.The old way of counting years.
- The family summers in Cornwall.The verb, slightly grand.
Two seasons or four?
- Old Germanic — a two-season year, summer and winter
- Old English — measured age in winters
- Spring — earlier called Lent, then springing time
- Autumn — earlier called harvest, from the work rather than the weather
- Fall — an English word that America kept and Britain let go
Old English *sumor*, from Proto-Germanic *sumaraz*, related to German *Sommer* and Dutch *zomer*, and ultimately to a root meaning half-year or season.
Why are summer and winter older than spring and autumn?
Because early Germanic speakers divided the year into two halves. The four-season model came later, and the two new names were built from farming terms.
What is an Indian summer?
A period of warm dry weather in late autumn. The phrase is American and dates from the eighteenth century.