sunny English · revision 10243

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1300}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsʌni/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English sunni, from [[sun]] with the suffix [[-y]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) compare Dutch zonnig and German [[m|de|sonnig]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Full of sunshine: before 1300 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Exposed to or warmed by the sun is from 1567,^(OED 1989) and like the sun in colour or brightness from 1596.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, cheerful, is attested from the 1540s,^(Etymonline) and ''sunny side'' for an optimistic outlook from 1831.^(Etymonline) ''Sunny side up'', of fried eggs, is by 1887 in lunch-counter slang.^(Etymonline) ''The sunny South'', the southern United States, is from 1846.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – full of sunshine.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1540s – cheerful.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1567 – exposed to the sun.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1831 – the sunny side.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1887 – sunny side up.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Full of or exposed to [[sunshine]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Cheerful and good-humoured.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of or like the sun.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sunnily]]

+ * [[sunniness]]

+ * [[unsunny]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sun]]

+ * [[sunshine]]

+ * [[sunlight]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots and northern English dialect, the sunny half or sunny side was the south-facing side of a piece of land.^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}