Somertide

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The season of summer, the warm part of the year when days are longest and temperatures are highest
2. An archaic term for the summer period, the warm time of year between spring and autumn
3. The warm months of the year, the season in which the sun is strongest and nights are shortest

Etymology: Somertide is an Old English-derived word that is now archaic, and its history is a straightforward compound. It comes from "sumor", meaning summer, combined with "tid", meaning time, season, or tide, so the word literally means "summertime" or "summer season." The "-tide" element survives in other English words such as "Christmastide" and "Eastertide," where it marks a period of the church year or a festival season. Somertide is recorded in Middle English, as the Old English "sumortid" evolved into forms that were used for the summer season. It largely fell out of everyday use as "summer" itself took over the role, leaving the compound to survive mainly in older literature and in place of the phrase "summer time."