sunnyn.
/ˈsʌni/, U.S. /ˈsəni/ Chiefly U.S.
A sunfish (see sunfish n. 1b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Centrarchidae (sun-fish) > [noun] > member of genus Lepomis (sun-fish)
bream1634
roach1637
sunfish1685
round robin1709
yellowbelly1775
redbelly1791
brim1795
sun perch1804
pumpkin seed1815
sunny1835
bluegill1877
redbreast1877
tobacco-box1877
red-eared sunfish1889
shell-cracker1889
sun1896
redear1931
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Centrarchidae (sun-fish) > [noun] > member of genus Pomotis
sunfish1685
sun perch1804
sunny1835
mud bass1884
sun1896
1835 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. III. 48 To the willow-twig fastened to his waist, a hundred ‘sunnies’ are already attached.
1892 Biennial Rep. Indiana State Fish Commissioner 70 The common sunfish, pumpkin seed or sunny. Lepomis Gibbosus.
1924 Logansport (Indiana) Morning Press 23 July 26/5 Early in the morning you go right down this mill stream and you will find all the sunnies you want.
1962 E. Gibbons Stalking Wild Asparagus 249 Ask any sport-fisherman the name of the first fish he ever caught and..he will tell you it was a Bluegill... He may call it a Sunny, Sunfish, Sun Perch, Gilly or Pumpkin Seed, but these are only a few of the local names for the same little fish, the Eupomotis of several species.
1993 Outdoor Canada Oct. 30/2 The confined bay of a larger body of water that I know harbors the delectable, sweet-fleshed sunnies.
2012 J. M. Peterson Fishing Lakes & Ponds 4 Many people like small fish called panfish, which are sunfish (sunnies), crappies, bluegills, and perch.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sunnyadj.
/ˈsʌni/, U.S. /ˈsəni/ 1.
a. Of a period of time: during or within which the sun is shining, or usually shines.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [adjective] > of or relating to sunlight > bright with or characterized by sunshine
sun-brightOE
sunnya1400
sunshining1566
sunshine1578
sunshiny1606
sun-drenched1864
sun-bathed1897
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > fine weather > [adjective] > clear > sunny
sunnya1400
aprique1656
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 23341 On sunni dai To se fixs in a water plai.
a1500 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 174 Was there neuer sonnye day so cleere.
1554 F. van Brunswick tr. A. de Montulmo Ryghte Excellente Treat. Astron. sig. B.iiv The seuentene daie faire wether, and sunnie.
?1592 Trag. Solyman & Perseda i. ii. 43 Far more welcome..Then sunny daies to naked Sauages.
1624 J. Penkethman tr. Epigrams P. Virgilius Maro & Others sig. C3v The fat field beares rich Eares in Sunny howers.
1683 Pastoral upon Death Dutchess of Ormond 4 Tender as the Lambs that play In Sunny morns.
1714 J. Gay Shepherd's Week iii. 69 Sooner shall scriech Owls bask in Sunny Day..Than I forget my Shepherd's wonted Love!
1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 378 The bee upon the blossom, In the pride o' sinny noon.
1833 Amer. Monthly Mag. Aug. 391 The beautiful, sunny, flowery, first of May..is..called..chimney-sweepers' day.
1894 S. A. Forbes 18th Rep. State Entomol. Insects Illinois 49 The first day of the operation was cloudy and dull, and the second..was sunny and bright.
1913 C. Mackenzie Youth's Encounter v. 72 Even on the sunniest morning his imagination would turn to twilight and foggy eves.
1963 Jrnl. Ecol. 51 632 During sunny spells, if the soil remains moist at the surface, evaporation of water will reduce heating of the surface layers.
2016 Toronto Sun (Nexis) 29 Aug. a6 It has been that wonderful kind of summer—sunny and hot.
b. Of weather, climate, etc.: characterized by copious amounts of sunshine; in which sunshine predominates.
ΚΠ
1589 T. Lodge Scillaes Metamorphosis sig. A2 Marke how the morne in roseat colour shines, And straight with cloudes the Sunnie tract is clad.
1602 T. Campion Obseruations Art Eng. Poesie iv. sig. B3 He'le turne his glory from the sunny clymes, The North-bred wits alone to patronise.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica vi. ix. 321 There appeareth a rednesse upon the water, which is most discernible in sunny and windie weather. View more context for this quotation
1734 J. Richardson & J. Richardson Explanatory Notes Paradise Lost p. iv He Us'd to sit..at the Door of his House..in Warm Sunny Weather.
1759 T. Marriott 20th Epist. Horace to Bk. Advt. p. xvi Virgil..adapted his Precepts to that sunny Climate.
1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram I. i. v. 77 The fresh yet sunny air stole in.
1851 A. Helps Compan. Solitude i. 14 The inhabitants of sunnier climes.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 22 Apr. 4/2 The sky was sunny, but mottled in the north-west with ‘herring-bones’, which prophesied wind.
1964 W. A. Anderson Angel Hudson Bay (new ed.) 7 They sailed off in a half-decked schooner, and for most of the way had sunny weather broken with wavering mists.
2016 Cairns (Austral.) Post (Nexis) 29 Oct. 2 I love the great weather. It's always sunny and warm here.
2. Exposed to sunlight; lit or warmed by the sun; (of a place) that receives a lot of sunlight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [adjective] > of or relating to sunlight > exposed to or illumined by
repercuss?1440
sunny?1440
sunned1565
sunshiny1600
sun-clad1637
sun-lighted1737
sunlit1784
unshaded1802
sunlight1819
shadeless1837
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > subjection or exposure to heat or fire > [adjective] > exposed to heat of sun
sunny?1440
sunned1565
sunburnt1634
sun-beat1636
insolate1652
subsolar1657
insolated1664
sun-beaten1751
sun-smitten1797
sun-bathed1839
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) i. l. 331 Fourme hit so that faire hit stonde yfere, The wintir wonyng on the sonny side Ther Phebus with his bemys may hit chere.
1587 L. Mascall Bk. Cattell (1596) 58 Cattell..delight to be in sunnie places in winter..and in summer to be in thicke shadie woods.
1607 N. Geffe tr. O. de Serres Perfect Vse Silke-wormes 91 To giue the leaues for to feede Silk-wormes, gathering them in the best aired and sunniest parts of the trees.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 28 Where the Muses haunt Cleer Spring, or shadie Grove, or Sunnie Hill. View more context for this quotation
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 184 The search of sunny nook, Or shed impervious to the blast.
1836 W. Irving Astoria I. x. 158 Those placid streams and sunny lakes stocked with all kinds of fish.
1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths I. 58 This little gay room was certainly brighter and sunnier.
1931 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 31 440/1 If the plants are to be in a city apartment, regardless of the fact that the window is sunny or without sun, there are always certain features that one must contend with.
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 30 May 24 There's no more beautiful feeling than the opiate of unguarded sleep on a sunny boat deck.
2015 Guardian (Nexis) 7 Mar. Begonias are the ultimate annuals for sunny spots.
3. Resembling the sun in colour or brightness; appearing as if lit by the sun. Of the hair: bright blonde or auburn; flaxen, golden. Also in figurative contexts.In later use sometimes merging with sense 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > colour of hair > [adjective] > golden
sunnisha1413
sunnyc1500
hyacinthine1656
hyacinthian1794
auricomous1864
the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [adjective] > of or relating to sunlight > as bright as the sun
sunnisha1413
sunnyc1500
sun-bright1579
sunshiny1590
sun-like?1593
sunbeamed1598
sunshining1629
sun-clad1637
sunbeamy1821
the world > matter > colour > named colours > yellow or yellowness > [adjective] > bright yellow
sunnisha1413
sunnyc1500
canary1818
sunshine yellow1835
marigold1872
buttercup1879
nasturtium-yellow1892
sunglow1924
sun-yellow1924
c1500 in H. A. Person Cambr. Middle Eng. Lyrics (1953) 39 (MED) Hyr eyen byn holow and grene as any grasse, And rauynnysshe yelow ys hyr sonny tresse.
1593 T. Lodge Phillis sig. Ev The trees by my redoubled sighes long blasted, Call for thy balme-sweete breath and sunnie eyes.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. i. 169 Her sunny locks Hang on her temples like a golden fleece. View more context for this quotation
1647 A. Cowley Vain Love in Mistress 8 A rich, and sunny Diamond.
1747 W. Collins Odes 16 Truth, in sunny Vest array'd.
1762 S. Derrick Battle of Lora 28 Of all my Race beside surviveth none. No more they'll bless them in your sunny Eyes!
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 77 His flaxen hair, of sunny hue.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. ii. i. 124 Ringlets of darkest yet sunniest auburn.
1887 H. R. Haggard Jess xxvii. 252 She..laid her sunny head upon the old man's shoulder.
1945 Amer. Weekly 27 May 19/2 Add a big, sunny glass of fresh California orange juice and you fill your day's need for vitamin C.
2016 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 9 July f14 She managed to retain the kitchen's antiquated charm by painting the walls a sunny yellow and adding amusing touches.
4. figurative. Expressing, evoking, or characterized by joy or happiness; cheering; bright; (of a person or a person's temperament) cheerful, good-natured.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > quality of causing joy or delight > [adjective]
hightlyOE
delitec1225
joyful1297
delightablec1300
delicatea1382
gladsomec1386
gladdingc1394
delightfula1400
deliciousc1400
delectablec1415
delighting?a1425
delitousa1425
ravishingc1430
joyous1475
delightsomec1484
wealthlya1500
delectary?c1500
sunny1565
sunshine1594
delighted1595
heartsome1596
joysome1616
gladdening1729
scrum1877
heartthrob1907
dilly1909
delish1915
zip-a-dee-doo-dah1945
the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [adjective] > cheering or suggestive of cheerfulness
comfortative1377
comfortive1377
cheerfula1440
comfortablec1460
cheering1549
sunny1565
sunshine1594
heartsome1596
sprightly1598
livening1605
brightening1642
exhilarating1644
encheering1652
cheery1655
spiriting1671
sunshiny1686
riant1720
sonsy1721
genial1747
cheerfulizing1840
cheer-up1846
enlivening1862
exhilarative1864
exhilarant1866
exhilaratory1871
heartening1895
1565 B. Garter Tragicall Hist. Two Eng. Louers f. 48v I left your sonnye sight with teares,And Neptunes realme possest.
1594 Zepheria vi. sig. B3v My fate, oh not my fault hath me debard From forth thy fauors sunny Sanctuary.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 98 A sunnie looke of his. View more context for this quotation
1688 J. Barker Poet. Recreations ii. 259 Your Sunny Face, through Cloudy Frowns, in vain Wou'd make my Gazing Eyes abstain.
1728 J. Thomson Spring 53 Instead of Love-enlivened Cheeks, Of Sunny Features, and of ardent Eyes.., dark Looks succeed.
1755 G. Bally Justice Supreme Being 6 He wanton basks In Fortune's sunny smiles.
1849 T. De Quincey Vision Sudden Death in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 754/1 Again the choir burst forth in sunny grandeur.
1872 H. P. Liddon Some Elements Relig. iv. 134 Such is Schopenhauer's reply to the sunny Optimism of Leibnitz.
1920 Harvard Advocate Mar. 211/2 Even as it dulled dismay, it enervated ambition; and the proverbial sunny future became more distant.
1976 D. Lavender Calif. ii. 31 Walter Colton..felt the tug of these sunny people even while clucking at their customs.
2016 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 9 May 34 A person famous not only for her sportsmanship, but her sunny nature, sharp wit and well-framed sentences.
5. Of, relating to, or produced by the sun.Also (and in earliest use) in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sun > [adjective]
sunlyeOE
solara1525
sunny1566
solary1588
heliac1807
the world > the universe > sun > [adjective] > produced by
sunny1566
solar1698
heliacal1801
1566 T. Heskyns Parl. Chryste iii. ii. f. ccxxxvii I wolde attempt to putte some more light to the bright sunnie beames, whiche were mere folie.
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Aug. 81 All as the Sunnye beame so bright.
1591 T. Lodge Famous Life Duke of Normandy f. 18 The coole shade which gaue him shelter against the sunny heate.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 465 The Cocke..is a terror to the lion..because they are both partakers of the Sunnes qualities..and..there is a more eminent and predominant sunny propertie in the Cocke, then in the Lion.
1627 M. Drayton Battaile Agincourt 42 Bills and Axes play, As doe the Attom's in the Sunny ray.
1657 F. Cockin Divine Blossomes 47 You bath your souls in this her sunny-shine.
1681 S. Colvil Mock Poem i. 32 If he at Dover through them glance, He sees what hours it is in France; As he hath prov'd by frequent trial, On Steeple, Clock, and Sunny Dial.
1714 A. Hill Ded. Beech-tree 9 Wide lies a Tract, beyond the Sunny Line, Where Rays direct with burning Lustre shine.
1765 Lark I. 38 Tweed's silver streams Shining in the sunny beams.
a1821 J. Keats To Fanny in R. M. Milnes Life, Lett. & Lit. Remains Keats (1848) II. 35 O, for some sunny spell To dissipate the shadows of this hell!
1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths I. 74 The sunny daylight seeming to go round her in an amber mist.
1909 New Phytol. 8 360 This is especially common when the night-frost is preceded by a spell of bright sunny radiation.
1957 J. Saxe tr. ‘Martinus’ On Birth of my Mission in A. Ørnsholt & J. Saxe tr. ‘Martinus’ Road to Initiation i. iv. 10 Literally revealing himself in flesh and blood in the sunny light of the twentieth century.
1966 MLN 81 182 When the sunny heat of the south and the lunar cold of the north combine, it is not the vital but rather the chill images that are the more powerful and striking.
2015 Advocate (Burnie, Tasmania) (Nexis) 3 Jan. 5 When you step outside today you should expect warm, sunny rays to be beaming down on you.
6. Of a flavour, taste, etc.: suggestive of sunshine or summer, typically with reference to freshness, lightness, ripeness, etc.
ΚΠ
1825 New Monthly Mag. 14 466 You may walk in a podere, and look about in vain for shade; no tree is permitted to attain its natural growth, lest the fruit should lose its sunny flavour.
1857 W. W. Caldwell tr. E. Geibel Poems 241 The sunny smell of violets Perfumeth all the ground.
1895 W. Bellamy Cent. of Charades No. xcix Some love the sunny wine of Spain, And some the cru of Aquitaine.
1962 Life 21 Sept. 15 Sweet, juicy oranges blended with the sunny taste of ripe bananas.
1998 M. Gluck Superplonk 1999 207 Rich and warm, sunny and charmingly obesely fruity but with a hint of freshness on the finish under the ripe melon.
2011 Independent on Sunday 28 Aug. (New Review) 32/1 Whenever I come back from a balmy holiday in the Med I'm always inspired by the simple, sunny flavours you find there.
Compounds
C1. In combination with other adjectives, chiefly with adverbial force, as sunny-bright, sunny-ripe, etc.
ΚΠ
1550 W. Salesbury Baterie of Popes Botereulx sig. Di They might be traded vnder a clowdye and misticall doctrine, but yet hauing many sparcles of his sunny bright gospell..they mighte rather atchiue the ende of their spirituall progresse.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i.v. sig. E2v She saw Duessa sunny bright, Adornd with gold and iewels shining cleare.
1600 S. Nicholson Acolastus his After-witte sig. E4 Phaebus in his pride Had scal'd hot Cancers sunny-parched cell.
1652 Lydgate's Churl & Bird in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum 222 Hit..maketh hevy herts lyght, Lyke passyng of colur Sunny bryght [a1475 Longleat sonnysh bright].
1708 J. Philips Cyder ii. 70 A fusil Sea, That in his Furnace bubbles sunny-red.
1753 T. Warton Ode Approach of Summer 161 From pearled bush The sunny-sparkling drop I brush.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Palace of Art xiv, in Poems (new ed.) 73 In yellow pastures sunnywarm.
1858 G. H. Lewes Sea-side Stud. 219 The mystic drama will be sunny clear, and all Nature's processes will be visible to man, as a divine Effluence.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 393 She dare not bear the sunnygolden babe of day.
1955 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 9 Nov. 16/1 An acre of sunny-bright lawns and fruit trees.
2012 Bristol Post (Nexis) 26 May 10 A dry, brisk, even lemony Loire wine with a sunny-ripe sweet middle flavour.
C2. Forming parasynthetic adjectives and derived nouns, as sunny-coloured, sunny-faced, sunny-hearted, sunny-heartedness, etc.
ΚΠ
1816 L. Hunt Story of Rimini iii. 66 Blush-hiding strawberry, sunny-coloured box, Hyacinth, handsome with his clustering locks.
1828 Atlas 5 Oct. 634/3 The sunny-faced child was in the act of spreading over Augusta's knees..a little white handkerchief.
1865 Atlantic Monthly Feb. 241/2 Visits from sunny-hearted people..must be a positive blessing.
1883 Cent. Mag. Nov. 146/2 Mrs. Knollys was a young English bride, sunny-haired, hopeful-eyed.
1928 Monroe (Louisiana) News-Star 22 May 2/4 (advt.) Sunny-colored and becoming clothes with a smack of youth in them.
1961 Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) 11 Feb. 6/7 There was a certain sunnyheartedness about those first followers of Jesus.
2016 Irish Daily Mail (Nexis) 24 May 34 Down-to-earth and sunny natured, what really marks him out is his complete lack of self-pity.
C3. † sunny chamber n. Scottish Obsolete a summer house.† sunny-east adj. Scottish Obsolete south-east.† sunny quarter n. Scottish Obsolete that side of an area or piece of land which faces the south; = sunny half n.
sunny-day adj. dependable only when conditions or circumstances are favourable; = fair-weather adj. 3; cf. sunshine adj. 3.
ΚΠ
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. vii. 185 Such sunny-day courtiers, as my noble guest.
1879 H. M. Robinson Great Fur Land xii. 268 For the most part they are sunny-day friends, only seeking the dissipations of the hunting-camps when the stages are well loaded with hump, and brisket and ribs.
2006 E. Lott Disappearing Liberal Intellect. 206 Sunny-day friends who come and go; and well-wishers who are never there when you need them.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > summer-house
summer house1519
garden house1535
cabinet1579
summer hall1583
kiosk1625
summer room1625
sunny chamber1641
shadow-house1649
alcove1663
root house1755
moss-house?1793
rose temple1848
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > outhouse(s) > [noun] > building or house in garden
summer house1519
garden house1535
kiosk1625
summer room1625
sunny chamber1641
shadow-house1649
garden apartment1751
root house1755
1641 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1897) IX. 368/2 Cum claustro et lie sunȝie-chalmer cum hortis ejusdem.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > direction > cardinal points > South > South-east > [adjective]
south-eastOE
south-eastern1577
south-easterly1600
sunny-east1633
south-east1705
southeastwardly1705
south-eastward1749
1633 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1894) VIII. 725/2 Lie sonie-eist-half de Dumbertnit.
sunny half n. Scottish (now historical and rare) that side of an area or piece of land which faces the south (opposed to shadow or shady half); cf. sunny quarter n., sun half n. at sun n.1 Compounds 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > [noun] > aspect or direction faced > part having specific aspect > specific facing south
sunny half1532
sun half1565
sunny quarter1574
the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > [noun] > fact of having distinct sides > one or other side or hand > side facing specific direction > side facing sun
sun sidec1400
sunny side?1440
sunny half1532
sun half1565
1532 in D. H. Fleming Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum (1921) II. 193/2 Gevand him full fredome..to sell and analy his suny half of the landis of Blairschynnach.
1574 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1888) V. 496/1 Dimidietatem solarem lie sonnie halff de Mylntoun de Conen.
1602 in A. Jervise Epitaphs (1879) II. 373/1 All and haill the equall sonney half [of the lands and town of Auchreny].
1692 in J. Robertson Illustr. Topogr. & Antiq. Aberdeen & Banff (1857) III. 37 The lands of Tillienaid as well the sunny as the shady half.
1824 Caledonian Mercury 6 May Over Stenton contains 198 acres..and Sunny-half of Western Strathore 121 acres.
1955 D. Mathew Scotl. under Charles I x. 163 On 24 March 1610 George Leslie..granted to John Leslie, fiar of Balquhain, a charter of the sunny half of the farm and lands.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > direction > cardinal points > South > [noun] > part or place
southdealeOE
south halfeOE
southlandOE
south endlOE
southdalec1175
south sidec1325
southa1382
Auster1535
sun half1565
sunny quarter1574
south-away1893
the world > space > direction > [noun] > aspect or direction faced > part having specific aspect > specific facing south
sunny half1532
sun half1565
sunny quarter1574
1574 Inventory Munim. Earl of Crawford II. 126 Bond of Reversion..for redemption of the sunny quarter of the lands of Dilphowber.
1599 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1892) VII. 102/2 Lie sony quarter landis of Tyrie.
1600 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1890) VI. 337/1 Octo bovatas terrarum..vocatas the Sonny-quarter.
Sunny South n. (also sunny South) the southeastern part of the United States; cf. south n. 3c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States > southern states
south1779
Sunny South1833
Negroland1836
Old South1847
Dixie1859
Cousin Sally1861
sunbelt1918
down home1920
Deep South1936
1833 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 19 Oct. The negroes will never consent to their exclusion from the beautiful fields of the ‘sunny South’.
1900 Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 12 175 My stay in the Sunny South was made so pleasant that the name of Georgia is synonymous with friendship, hospitality, and good-will.
2004 S. M. Stowe Doctoring South 4 The Sunny South was believed to have sickness implicated in its climate and diet, its social relations and cultural preoccupations.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1835
adj.a1400