sunlight English · revision 15417

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1200}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsʌnˌlaɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sunneliht]], from [[m|enm|sunne|t=sun]] and [[m|enm|liht|t=light]] (see [[sun]] and [[light]]).^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) Compare [[nl|zonlicht]] and [[de|Sonnenlicht]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The light of the sun: about 1200 (sonnelight) in Etymonline, about 1205 in the OED;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Merriam-Webster gives the 13th century.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A figurative use, like [[sunshine]], is from 1577.^(OED 1989) The adjective sunlight, sunlit, is from 1818,^(OED 1989) and a sun-burner, a cluster of gas jets, was called a sunlight in the 1860s.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1205 – the light of the sun.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1577 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1818 – sunlight (adjective), sunlit.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The light of the [[sun]]; [[sunshine]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A place or time lit by the sun.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sunbeam]]

+ * [[sun]]

+ * [[light]]

+ * [[sunshine]]

+ * [[sunlit]]

+ * [[daylight]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}