season English · revision 2001

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300 (Kyng Alisaunder)|origins=la serere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsiː.zən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sesoun]], [[bor|fro|seison]] or [[m|fro|saison|t=season; right moment]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|satiō|t=a sowing, planting]] (accusative [[m|la|satiōnem]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|satus]], past participle of [[m|la|serere|t=to sow]],^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*sē-|t=to sow]], the root also of [[sow]], [[seed]] and [[semen]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) In Vulgar Latin the word shifted from “act of sowing” to “time of sowing”, especially spring as the main sowing time, and in Old Provençal and Old French it came to mean any of the four seasons.^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(SOED 2002) [[es|estación]] and [[it|stagione]] are unrelated, coming from Latin [[m|la|statiō|t=station]].^(Etymonline) The verb is [[m|enm|sesounen]], partly from the noun and partly from Old French [[m|fro|saisonner|t=to ripen, season]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A proper time or suitable occasion, and a time of year marked by some activity (probably before 1300, in ''Kyng Alisaunder'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Seasons of weather are recorded about 1350, and one of the four quarters of the year (often ''summer season'') in ''Piers Plowman'', before 1376.^(Barnhart 1988) The wet and dry seasons of the tropics are so called from 1719.^(Etymonline) ''The season'', a period of annual festivity or social activity, is by 1791, hence ''season's greetings''.^(Etymonline) The verb first meant “to improve the flavour of with spices” (about 1390, in ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a sense that grew in French from ripening fruit by the influence of the seasons.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986) Of timber, “to dry and harden for use”, is from 1540,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and of people, “to make fit by time or habit” (''a seasoned traveller''), from about 1600.^(Etymonline) In other Indo-European languages the general word for a season is usually built on a word for “time”, as in Latin ''tempus (annī)'' and German ''Jahreszeit''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – a suitable time, a time of year for some activity (''Kyng Alisaunder'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – the time when a plant blooms or fruits.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1350 – a period of weather.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1376 – one of the four seasons (''Piers Plowman'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1380 – ''seasonable'' (Wycliffe).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1390 – verb, to flavour with spices.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1540 – verb, of timber, to dry and harden.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1600 – of people, to make fit by habit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1719 – the wet and dry seasons of the tropics.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1791 – ''the season'', a period of festivity.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One of the four divisions of the year: [[spring]], [[summer]], [[autumn]] and [[winter]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The rainy or dry period of the year in tropical regions.^(AHD)

+ # A recurring period marked by certain activities: ''the football season''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The time when a fruit or food is at its best: ''in season''.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # A period of festivity: ''the holiday season''.^(Etymonline)

+ # An indefinite period: ''for a season''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To improve the flavour of (food) with salt, spices or herbs.^(AHD)

+ # To add interest or zest to.^(AHD)

+ # To dry (timber) until ready for use.^(AHD)

+ # To make experienced or competent: ''a seasoned traveller''.^(AHD)

+ # To moderate, temper.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[seasonedly]]

+ * [[seasoner]]

+ * [[seasonless]]

+ * [[off-season]]

+ * [[post-season]]

+ * [[preseason]]

+ * [[seasonable]]

+ * [[seasonal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[seasoning]]

+ * [[sow]]

+ * [[seed]]

+ * [[semen]]

+ * [[disseminate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}