midwinter
/mɪdˈwɪntə
/noun
1The middle part of winter: in midwinter the track became a muddy morass...
- In midwinter, the sun's elevation does not exceed 20 to 23 degrees, and the shortest day consists of about nine hours of daylight.
- In midwinter, coach trips are available daily from Como town to Madesimo to ski for the day.
- Rituals enacted in midwinter ensured the return of the sun in springtime to breathe life back into the barren soil and bring fertility to the land so that its inhabitants may reap a plentiful harvest.
1.1The winter solstice.The monument was orientated to mark sunrise at the midsummer solstice (and sunset at the midwinter solstice), but whether it has further astronomical significance is debatable....
- For two years we got along wonderfully as friends, until the night of the midwinter feast five years ago.
- Then she spoke softly, but her voice was cold as the ice when the midwinter sun rises.
Origin
Old English (see mid-, winter).