
Summer is one of those words, like father or mother or others close to heart and home, that has come to us almost unchanged since its origin thousands of years ago.
The word summer has its origins in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root
sm (summer) which is the source of words such as Sanskrit
sama (season),
Avestan hama (in summer), Armenian
amarn (summer), and Old Irish
sam, Old Welsh
ham, and Welsh
haf, all meaning summer.
The PIE root
sm is also the source of Proto-Germanic
sumra, Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German
sumar, Old Frisian
sumur, Middle Dutch
somer, Dutch
zomer, German
Sommer, and Old English
sumor—all meaning summer. Old Norse
sumarsdag, the first day of summer, was the Thursday that fell between April 9 and 15.
Those of you with a carpentry background will know that the late 13th century word
summer refers to a horizontal bearing beam in a timber-framed building; but let that be another story.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary,
https://www.etymonline.com/
Published on June 23, 2021 09:40