Thursday, March 21, 2013

primaveral

primaveral \prahy-muh-VEER-uhl\, adjective:

of, in, or pertaining to the early springtime: primaveral longings to sail around the world.

Yet could it ever be truly recaptured, the former primaveral joy?
-- Anthony Burgess, Nothing Like the Sun, 1996
Yesterday I saw a horseman chase through a countryside exploding with primaveral verdure, and if I'd brought a lute along, on my Sunday walk that led me past an imposing chateau I'd once, so and so many years ago, "patrolled" as a recruit, I would have joyously sung out across the treetops, to the solitary, beautiful cinquecento edifice, some such words as "Behind which casement seekest thou, angel, thy repose?"
-- Robert Walser, Speaking to the Rose, 1932

Primaveral hails from the Latin prima vera, literally meaning "springtime." This word shares its root with the Italian noodle dish, pasta primavera: pasta served with fresh vegetables.

No comments: