midwinter

C2 Topic:Time
US /ˌmɪdˈwɪntɚ/ UK /ˌmɪdˈwɪntə/
noun adj Freq #55448

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    the middle and often coldest part of winter

    Even in midwinter, green plants could be pulled from the pond.

  2. 2
    adj

    occurring in or characteristic of the middle of winter

    A midwinter thaw exposed patches of grass beside the road.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · the middle and often... deep winterwintertime
2 adj · occurring in or... wintry
Opposites
Word family
Derived forms midwinterly
Related forms wintersolsticemidsummer

Etymology

From Old English midwinter, a compound of mid and winter, with cognates across the Germanic languages. It can refer broadly to the middle of the winter season and, more narrowly in older calendars, to the winter solstice period.

Topics

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