- Vernal
- Vernal Ver"nal, a. [L. vernalis, fr. vernus vernal, ver
spring; akin to Gr. ?, Skr. vasanta, Icel. v[=a]r, and E.
Easter, east.]
1. Of or pertaining to the spring; appearing in the spring;
as, vernal bloom.
[1913 Webster]
2. Fig.: Belonging to youth, the spring of life. [1913 Webster]
When after the long vernal day of life. --Thomson. [1913 Webster]
And seems it hard thy vernal years Few vernal joys can show? --Keble. [1913 Webster]
{Vernal equinox} (Astron.), the time when the sun crosses the equator when proceeding northward.
{Vernal grass} (Bot.), a low, soft grass ({Anthoxanthum odoratum}), producing in the spring narrow spikelike panicles, and noted for the delicious fragrance which it gives to new-mown hay; -- also called {sweet vernal grass}. See Illust. in Appendix.
{Vernal signs} (Astron.), the signs, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini, in which the sun appears between the vernal equinox and summer solstice. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
