WOTD: Equinox

(Noun)

Pronunciation: ['e-kwê-nahks] Listen

Definition: (1) One of the two days in the year when day and night are of equal length—12 hours each; (2) the two points at which the sun's path, as seen from earth, crosses the equator.

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Usage: There are two equinoxes: the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox. The vernal equinox, the traditional first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs (or occurred) at exactly 1:49 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today. Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, which is why it has no fixed date as does Christmas. If you must use them, the adjective is "equinoctial" and the adverb, "equinoctially." Vernal means "pertaining to spring."

Suggested Usage: I'm sure many of us find using "March 20" over and over monotonous and boring. We have "Ides of March" as a synonym to relieve the repetition of "March 15." Today's word offers relief from repeating "March 20:" "Let's do lunch one day at the deli; I'll meet you there at half past noon of the vernal equinox." The vernal equinox has been an excellent excuse for a party for millennia: "Come over to the house after 7 on March 20; we're holding a substantial celebration of the vernal equinox."

Etymology: Today's word began as Latin "aequinoctium," made up of aequi- "equal" + nox, noct- "night," which also underlies "nocturnal." The Proto-Indo-European root for "dark, night," *nok-t-/*nek-t- turns up in many Indo-European languages: Russian "noch'," French "nuit," German "Nacht," Italian "notte," and Spanish "noche," all shaped by the language they occur in. The *nek- variant emerges in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish negro "black" from Latin niger "black," found in "Nigeria".

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