Antespring

/ˈæntiːsprɪŋ/ noun

Definition

The period or season that comes immediately before spring; early spring or the transition into spring.

Etymology

From Latin 'ante' (before) + English 'spring'. This compound combines a Latin temporal prefix with the English season name, created to describe the time just before or at the edge of spring.

Kelly Says

While this word is quite rare, it captures something that poets and gardeners understand deeply—that peculiar in-between time when spring is arriving but winter hasn't fully released its grip, and different languages mark this liminal moment in different ways.

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