Summer is such an entrancing time that often it’s hard to even describe. The following is a list of words I have compiled relating to, or describing the summer months in some way. Maybe now you’ll be able to put words to some of the most amazing sights, feelings, and phenomenon in this blissful season.

1. Alpenglow

noun | al-pen-glow
:a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains

Think about that reddish hue the world gets as the sun is setting and you can only really see it hitting the tops of houses or trees. This is just when it hits the tops of mountains.

2. Apricate

verb | ap-ri-cate
:to bask in the sun

When you can’t help but linger in the sun just a little while longer.

3. Frondescence

noun | fron-des-cence
:the condition or period of unfolding of leaves, foliage

That time of year when the leaves are green and opening up to the world.

4. Languorous

adjective | lan-guor-ous
:weakness or weariness of body or mind, listless indolence or inertia

Think Daisy Buchanan of The Great Gatsby lounging in the sun room and fanning herself because of the unbearable heat.

5. Moonglade

noun | moon-glade
:the bright reflection of the moon’s light on an expanse of water

When you’re out on a body of water at night and the moon is so bright that you can see its reflection rippling out on the water. It’s like you’re sailing on the sky.

6. Moony

adjective | moon-y
:of or relating to the moon, moonlit, dreamy

You use this word when something reminds you of the moon. I like using it when it’s synonymous with the word “dreamy”. It could be the feeling of falling in love, or the feeling of one of those perfectly sun-soaked, brain-melting, summer days that stay imprinted on your memory forever.

7. Petrichor

noun | pet-ri-chor
:a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather

Everyone knows that wet pavement smell after a fresh summer rain, making everything more saturated and a bit more alive.

8. Saccharine

-char-rine
:of, relating to, or resembling that of sugar, yielding or containing sugar, overly or sickishly sweet, overly sentimental

This word and definition makes me think of that sort of sick feeling you get when eating something that is almost to sweet to handle. In the summer months it seems sweetness goes hand-in-hand with the heat.

10 . Sheen

adjective| sheen
:to be bright, a soft luster on a surface.

Who doesn’t love that dewy glow that shows up on the surface of our skin after a run, dip in a pool, or time spent sun-bathing?

11. Spoondrift

noun | spoon-drift
:spray blown from waves during a gale at sea

Imagine yourself on a sailboat, crossing some choppy waves, and the spray from the water is coming in, making everything a bit damp and giving your hair that beach-wave-wind-swept look.

12. Verdant

adjective| ver-dant
:green in tint or color, green with growing plants, unripe in experience or judgment

If you’ve ever read Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” you have experienced this word.