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“The sun’s coming soon. / A future, then, of warmth and runoff, / and old faces surprised to see us. / A cache of love, I’d call it, / opened up, vernal, refreshed.” These are the closing lines of the poem “Runoff” by Sidney Burris, and even if you don’t (yet) know the word vernal, you can probably divine its meaning from context. The sun’s arrival? Melting snow and ice? Optimism? It all sure sounds like spring, the muse of many a poet and the essence of vernal, an adjective that describes all things related to the season. While the sun has been crossing the equator since time immemorial, producing a vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere in late March and in the southern hemisphere in late September, the word vernal has only been in use in English since the early 16th century, when it blossomed from the Latin adjective vernālis. That word in turn traces back to the noun vēr, meaning “spring.”
Examples of vernal in a Sentence
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
Other names for the spring equinox include the March equinox and the vernal equinox.
—Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
While the vernal equinox, which marks the start of spring, might be just another date for many people, Iranians celebrate it as Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
—March 25, NPR, 25 Mar. 2026
In March, the Northern Hemisphere observers will begin to see longer, warmer days from the vernal, or spring, equinox through the summer solstice, but Southern Hemisphere observers will experience shorter days and longer nights from their autumnal, or fall, equinox, NASA adds.
—Alex Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for vernal
Cite this Entry
“Vernal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vernal. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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vernal
adjective
