Word Nerd : Aestival or Estival

Estival means of or pertaining to the summer and Aestival is a variant of estival. Estival and Aestival both derive from the Latin aestīv(us) (of summer).

The 21st of June is the official start of the Summer season in the Eastern Hemisphere and what better way to mark it then by discovering the word Aestival? It states in it’s very definition that aestival is something that belongs to or occurs in Summer. I know I shall be using aestival (or estival) to describe all of those unique summer enchantments, like outdoor festivals, sun-dried cloths, beach visits, fresh produce, etc.

While Summer is not my most favorite season, I do enjoy the aestival blue skies that are filled with sunshine and the lazy, hazy estival afternoons that fade oh, so slowly into warm evenings. There’s also the promise of romance ~ the kind that matches the languid, sensual heat of all those estival days and nights…alright, maybe I’ve read a few too many cheesy vintage romances, but isn’t that a perfectly aestival sort of pastime?!