Serotinal

Word of the Day for Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Serotinal \si-ROT-n-l, ser-uh-TAHYN-l\, adjective:

pertaining to or occurring in late summer.

The night condenses into me, allays the bonds of my serotinal blight. Count Dracula and I share in this flight: we seek moist shadows underneath the quays, in marrow-darkness bid our bodies twist.
-- Philip K. Jason, Near the Fire, 1983

Botanists use the word serotinous to describe late-blossoming, and serotinal refers to the late-summer season of the year, especially used in descriptions of life-histories of freshwater organisms (Allaby 1985).
-- Robert J. Whelan, The Ecology of Fire, 1995

In these population dynamic trends obvious differences exist between the aestival and serotinal aspects.
-- Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca, 1986

Serotinal entered English in the early twentieth century. It is derived from the Latin word sērōtinus meaning "late of time."

 

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