Did you know?
“The sun’s coming soon. / A future, then, of warmth and runoff, / and old faces surprised to see us. / A cache of love, I’d call it, / opened up, vernal, refreshed.” These are the closing lines of the poem “Runoff” by Sidney Burris, and even if you don’t (yet) know the word vernal, you can probably divine its meaning from context. The sun’s arrival? Melting snow and ice? Optimism? It all sure sounds like spring, the muse of many a poet and the essence of vernal, an adjective that describes all things related to the season. While the sun has been crossing the equator since time immemorial, producing a vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere in late March and in the southern hemisphere in late September, the word vernal has only been in use in English since the early 16th century, when it blossomed from the Latin adjective vernālis. That word in turn traces back to the noun vēr, meaning “spring.”
Examples of vernal in a Sentence
Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 17 Apr. 2025
This refers to its connection with the vernal equinox — the official first day of spring — and the Easter holiday.
—Hannah Poukish, Sacbee.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Thursday marks the first day of spring – or in science terms, the vernal equinox!
—Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025
Every year, Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the day of the vernal equinox, according to the Astronomical Applications Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory.
—Pam Defiglio, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vernal
Cite this Entry
“Vernal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vernal. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vernal
adjective
Share