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Sun

 - 9 dictionary results

sun

  [suhn] ,noun, verb, sunned, sun⋅ning.
Use Sun in a Sentence
–noun
1. (often initial capital letter) the star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat: its mean distance from the earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km), its diameter about 864,000 miles (1.4 million km), and its mass about 330,000 times that of the earth; its period of surface rotation is about 26 days at its equator but longer at higher latitudes.
2. the sun considered with reference to its position in the sky, its visibility, the season of the year, the time at which or the place where it is seen, etc.
3. a self-luminous heavenly body; star.
4. sunshine; the heat and light from the sun: to be exposed to the sun.
5. a figure or representation of the sun, as a heraldic bearing usually surrounded with rays and marked with the features of a human face.
6. something likened to the sun in brightness, splendor, etc.
7. Chiefly Literary.
a. clime; climate.
b. glory; splendor.
8. sunrise or sunset: They traveled hard from sun to sun.
9. Archaic.
a. a day.
b. a year.
–verb (used with object)
10. to expose to the sun's rays.
11. to warm, dry, etc., in the sunshine.
12. to put, bring, make, etc., by exposure to the sun.
–verb (used without object)
13. to be exposed to the rays of the sun: to sun in the yard.
—Idioms
14. against the sun, Nautical. counterclockwise.
15. place in the sun, a favorable or advantageous position; prominence; recognition: The new generation of writers has achieved a place in the sun.
16. under the sun, on earth; anywhere: the most beautiful city under the sun.
17. with the sun, Nautical. clockwise.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME sun, sonne, OE sunne; c. G Sonne, ON sunna, Goth sunno; akin to ON sōl, Goth sauil, L sōl (see solar ), Gk hlios (see helio- ), Welsh haul, Lith saũlė, Pol słońce

Related forms:
sunlike, adjective

Sun.

 
Sunday.
Also, Sund.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Sun
sun   (sŭn)   


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n.  

  1. often Sun A star that is the basis of the solar system and that sustains life on Earth, being the source of heat and light. It has a mean distance from Earth of about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) a diameter of approximately 1,390,000 kilometers (864,000 miles) and a mass about 330,000 times that of Earth.

  2. A star that is the center of a planetary system.

  3. The radiant energy, especially heat and visible light, emitted by the sun; sunshine.

  4. A sunlike object, representation, or design.

v.   sunned, sun·ning, suns

v.   tr.
To expose to the sun's rays, as for warming, drying, or tanning.
v.   intr.
To expose oneself or itself to the sun.

[Middle English, from Old English sunne; see sāwel- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

sun

The star around which the Earth revolves.

Note: The sun is about 4.5 billion years old and is expected to remain in its present state for approximately another six billion years; it will eventually evolve into a white dwarf.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

sun  (n.)
O.E. sunne, from P.Gmc. *sunnon (cf. O.N., O.S., O.H.G. sunna, M.Du. sonne, Du. zon, Ger. Sonne, Goth. sunno), from PIE *s(u)wen- (cf. Avestan xueng "sun," O.Ir. fur-sunnud "lighting up"), alternate form of base *saewel- "to shine, sun" (see Sol). O.E. sunne was fem., and the fem. pronoun was used until 16c.; since then masc. has prevailed. The empire on which the sun never sets (1630) originally was the Spanish, later the British. To have one's place in the sun (1688) is from Pascal's "Pensées"; the Ger. imperial foreign policy sense (1897) is from a speech by von Bülow. The U.S. Sunbelt is first recorded 1969. Sunlight is first recorded c.1205. Sunbeam was in O.E.; sunset first recorded 1390 (sundown is from 1620); sunrise is first found 1440 (sun-up is from 1712). Sundial is from 1599. Sunspot in ref. to the solar phenomenon is from 1868. Egg served sunny side up first attested 1900. Sunroof of a car is from 1966.

sun  (v.)
1519, "to set something in the sun," from sun (n.). Meaning "to expose oneself to the sun" is recorded from 1610. Sun-bathing is attested from 1600. Sun-tan (v.) is recorded from 1821; the noun is first attested 1904. Sunburn (v.) is from sunne y-brent (c.1400).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

Sun
Sun Microsystems

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Bible Dictionary

Sun

(Heb. shemesh), first mentioned along with the moon as the two great luminaries of heaven (Gen. 1:14-18). By their motions and influence they were intended to mark and divide times and seasons. The worship of the sun was one of the oldest forms of false religion (Job 31:26,27), and was common among the Egyptians and Chaldeans and other pagan nations. The Jews were warned against this form of idolatry (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; comp. 2 Kings 23:11; Jer. 19:13).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

sun

In addition to the idiom beginning with sun, also see everything but the kitchen sink (under the sun); make hay while the sun shines; nothing new under the sun; place in the sun.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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