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sunny

Etymology and origin of the English word sunny

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1300

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsʌni/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English sunni, from sun with the suffix -y,[2][3][4] compare Dutch zonnig and German sonnig.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Full of sunshine: before 1300 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Exposed to or warmed by the sun is from 1567,[5] and like the sun in colour or brightness from 1596.[5] The figurative sense, cheerful, is attested from the 1540s,[2] and sunny side for an optimistic outlook from 1831.[2] Sunny side up, of fried eggs, is by 1887 in lunch-counter slang.[2] The sunny South, the southern United States, is from 1846.[5]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – full of sunshine.[5]
  • 1540s – cheerful.[2]
  • 1567 – exposed to the sun.[5]
  • 1831 – the sunny side.[2]
  • 1887 – sunny side up.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Full of or exposed to sunshine.
  2. Cheerful and good-humoured.
  3. Of or like the sun.

Word family

  • sunnily
  • sunniness
  • unsunny

Usage notes

In Scots and northern English dialect, the sunny half or sunny side was the south-facing side of a piece of land.[6][5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
Cite this entry

“Sunny.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/sunny. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·