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The leaves have all come and gone from the trees, the air regularly has a distinct bite to it, and people don’t leave the house without their winter caps (and the mountains put on their winter snow caps, too).</p> <p>In the Northern Hemisphere, winter falls in the months of December, January, and February, while the <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/season" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">season</a> spans June, July, and August in the Southern Hemisphere. Regardless of when winter comes, however, it always gets the same name in English. Yet if you look at where that name comes from, it’s not always the best description of what it’s like outside.</p> <h2><strong>When did <em>winter</em> get its name?</strong></h2> <p>Winter is not only the coldest part of the year in snowy locales, but it’s also often the wettest. That’s a defining characteristic that in part gave winter its name: the word <em>winter,</em> is recorded in Old English and is related to the words <em><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wet</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/water" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">water</a>.</em> <em>Winter</em>, <em>wet</em>, and <em>water</em> have many cognates in Germanic and other Indo-European languages. The word’s longevity is a hint to its importance. The Anglo-Saxons counted their years by how many winters had passed.</p> <p> <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/fall/" class="article__callout-link" target="_blank">What about the season also known as <em>fall</em>? Learn about the many names of autumn.</a> </p> <h2><strong>When winter doesn’t feel like winter</strong></h2> <p>Of course, despite the name, winter is not a universally wet season. In fact, in some parts of the world it’s the dry season.</p> <p>Places close to the <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/equator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">equator</a> don’t see the same winter, spring, summer, and fall seasons as other parts of the world. Instead, there’s a rainy season and a dry season. India sees its rainy <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/monsoon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monsoon</a> season from July to November, while Florida is hit with its rainy season from May through October.</p> <p>So yes, the name <em>winter</em> itself may have an origin story that suggests a wet time of year, but sometimes the opposite is true.</p> <div class='gf_browser_ie gf_browser_ie7 gform_wrapper gform_wrapper_original_id_23 crb-sailthtru-subscribe_wrapper crb_inline_form_wrapper' id='gform_wrapper_533339383' ><form method='post' enctype='multipart/form-data' id='gform_533339383' class='crb-sailthtru-subscribe crb_inline_form' action='/e/where-does-the-name-winter-come-from/'> <div class='gform_heading'> <p class='gform_title'>Keep Learning New Words Every Day!</p> <span class='gform_description'>Get the Word of The Day delivered straight to your inbox!</span> </div> <div class='gform_body'><ul id='gform_fields_533339383' class='gform_fields top_label form_sublabel_below description_below'><li id='field_533339383_1' class='gfield field_sublabel_below field_description_below hidden_label gfield_visibility_visible gfield--email gfield--large' ><label class='gfield_label' for='input_533339383_1' ></label><div class='ginput_container ginput_container_email'> <input name='input_1' id='input_533339383_1' type='email' value='' class='large' placeholder='yourname@email.com' aria-invalid="false" /> </div></li><li id='field_533339383_2' class='gfield gform_validation_container field_sublabel_below field_description_below gfield_visibility_visible gfield--honeypot gfield--' ><label class='gfield_label' for='input_533339383_2' >Name</label><div class='ginput_container'><input name='input_2' id='input_533339383_2' type='text' value='' autocomplete='off'/></div><div class='gfield_description' id='gfield_description__2'>This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.</div></li> </ul></div> <div class='gform_footer top_label'> <input type='submit' id='gform_submit_button_533339383' class='gform_button button' value='Sign Up' onclick='if(window["gf_submitting_533339383"]){return false;} if( !jQuery("#gform_533339383")[0].checkValidity || jQuery("#gform_533339383")[0].checkValidity()){window["gf_submitting_533339383"]=true;} ' onkeypress='if( event.keyCode == 13 ){ if(window["gf_submitting_533339383"]){return false;} if( !jQuery("#gform_533339383")[0].checkValidity || jQuery("#gform_533339383")[0].checkValidity()){window["gf_submitting_533339383"]=true;} jQuery("#gform_533339383").trigger("submit",[true]); }' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='is_submit_23' value='1' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_submit' value='23' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_unique_id' value='' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='state_23' value='WyJbXSIsImI4NDFhMDc0ODQ4ODY4ODYzNjM3OGI5MmQ5MGZkYmRjIl0=' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_target_page_number_23' id='gform_target_page_number_23' value='0' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_source_page_number_23' id='gform_source_page_number_23' value='1' /> <input type='hidden' name='gform_random_id' value='533339383' /><input type='hidden' name='gform_field_values' value='' /> </div> </form> </div><script type='text/javascript'>document.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", function() { jQuery(document).bind('gform_post_render', function(event, formId, currentPage){if(formId == 533339383) {if(typeof Placeholders != 'undefined'){ Placeholders.enable(); }} } );jQuery(document).bind('gform_post_conditional_logic', function(event, formId, fields, isInit){} ); }, false );</script><script type='text/javascript'>document.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", function() { jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [533339383, 1]) } ); }, false );</script> <h2><strong>When does winter start?</strong></h2> <p>The seasons are based around four celestial events: the two <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/equinox" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">equinoxes</a> and the two <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/solstice" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">solstices</a>. Winter starts with a solstice.</p> <p><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/fall-equinox-solstice/?preview_id=1899&preview_nonce=43892033f7&_thumbnail_id=193444&preview=true">The winter solstice is when the sun is at the southernmost point from Earth’s equator</a>. The exact day varies, but the winter solstice typically lands around December 22. That day, which is astronomically the first day of winter, is also the shortest day of the year.</p> <p>From an astrological standpoint, winter ends as soon as spring begins. That date is around March 21 during the spring equinox, which is also called the <em><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/vernal-equinox" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vernal equinox</a></em> or the<em> March equinox</em>.</p> <p>Of course, if you’re staring out of your window at a blizzard on December 16, it can certainly feel like winter even before the <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/winter-solstice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">winter solstice</a> comes and goes. On the other side of the season, a warm and sunny early March day certainly doesn’t feel like winter despite the start of spring still waiting for the equinox to pass.</p> <div class="has-video-player video-module"> <h3 class="video-title" id="video-title--HyAYCaubQ-1732800108-0" > WATCH: <span class="video-title__inner">We Asked: What's Your Favorite Winter Word?</span> </h3> <div class="video-player video-player--player " id="video-player--HyAYCaubQ-1732800108-0" data-playlist="true" data-instance-id="HyAYCaubQ-1732800108-0" > <div class="video-overlay"></div> <span class="btn-speaker muted"></span> <div class="video-controls"> <div class="video-screen"> <img src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAJCAYAAAA7KqwyAAAABmJLR0QA/wD/AP+gvaeTAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAB3RJTUUH4gETByMhHxuwUgAAABl0RVh0Q29tbWVudABDcmVhdGVkIHdpdGggR0lNUFeBDhcAAAAPSURBVCjPY2AYBaOACgAAAkkAAQysdekAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" class="ratio-placeholder" > <video id="video-player-object--HyAYCaubQ-1732800108-0" data-video-id="6129652516001" data-account="5660549791001" data-player="HyAYCaubQ" data-embed="default" data-application-id class="video-js" controls playsinline ></video> </div> <div class="video-playlist" data-ajax-url="https://www.dictionary.com/e/crb-ajax/cached.php" data-nonce="ca07508d14" data-video-id="141564" ></div> <div class="coming-up"></div> </div> </div> <div class="video-player video-player--content" id="video-player-content--HyAYCaubQ-1732800108-0" data-use-short-description="true" ></div> <div class="video-player" id="video-player-mobile-playlist--HyAYCaubQ-1732800108-0"></div> </div> <h2><strong>Other ways people use <em>winter</em></strong></h2> <p><em>Winter</em> doesn’t always have to refer to the season itself. It can be used as a general adjective for cold <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/weather" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">weather</a> any time of year, such as “a touch of <em>winter</em> in northern Florida.” It can also be used to count a year similar to how the Anglo-Saxons used <em>winter</em>, as in “a man of 60 <em>winters</em>.”</p> <p>Then there’s the option to use <em>winter</em> as a verb, as in “to <em>winter</em>” somewhere, which means to spend the season elsewhere. Typically this is used when referring to spending the season in a place with nicer weather than the one you’re leaving.</p> <p><em>Winter</em> can also be used to refer to the end of something and “a period of decline, decay, inertia, dreariness, or adversity.” And this, reader, is the winter of this explanation about where the word <em>winter</em> comes from.</p> </div> <div class="article__woty"> <div class="article__woty-body"> <div class="article__woty-items"> <a class="article__woty-item" data-linkid="" data-ev="" data-link-name="" href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/december/"> <h4 class="article__woty-item-title"> For many, winter and December go hand in hand. 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