season

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   one of the natural periods into which the year is divided by the equinoxes and solstices or atmospheric conditions

   the regular sequence of the seasons

2. 2
   noun

   a recurrent time marked by major holidays

   it was the Christmas season

3. 3
   noun

   a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field

   You celebrated your 10th season with the ballet company yesterday, right?

4. 4
   verb

   make fit

   This trip will season even the hardiest traveller

5. 5
   noun

   Each of the divisions of a year based on the prevailing weather: spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter; or the rainy (monsoon) and dry season, depending on the climate.

   we saw, in six days' traveling, the several seasons of the year in their beauty and perfection

6. 6
   noun

   A period of the year when something particular happens.

   mating season

7. 7
   noun

   A period of the year in which a place is most busy or frequented for business, amusement, etc.

   He seldom was seen in the office himself, but occasionally a paragraph in the paper recorded that his yacht had touched at Mentone and that he had been seen at the Monte Carlo tables, or that he was expected in Leicestershire for the season.

8. 8
   noun

   A year, but with emphasis on the most important part of the year in context, such as the months when plants or animals grow and reproduce.

   This invasive species reproduces so rapidly that it can completely take over an area in just a couple seasons.

Etymology

From Middle English sesoun, seson (“time of the year”), from Old French seson, saison (“time of sowing, seeding”), from Latin satiō (“act of sowing, planting”) from satum, past participle of serō (“to sow, plant”) from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow, plant”). Akin to Old English sāwan (“to sow”), sǣd (“seed”). Doublet of saison. Displaced native Middle English sele (“season”) (from Old English sǣl (“season, time, occasion”)), Middle English tide (“season, time of year”) (from Old English tīd (“time, period, yeartide, season”)).