Dictionary:

season

  (sē'zən)

1. 1. One of the four natural divisions of the year, spring, summer, fall, and winter, in the North and South Temperate zones. Each season, beginning astronomically at an equinox or solstice, is characterized by specific meteorological or climatic conditions.
   2. The two divisions of the year, rainy and dry, in some tropical regions.
2. A recurrent period characterized by certain occurrences, occupations, festivities, or crops: the holiday season; tomato season.
3. A suitable, natural, or convenient time: a season for merriment.
4. A period of time: gone for a season.

1. To improve or enhance the flavor of (food) by adding salt, spices, herbs, or other flavorings.
2. To add zest, piquancy, or interest to: seasoned the lecture with jokes.
3. To treat or dry (lumber, for example) until ready for use; cure.
4. To render competent through trial and experience: a lawyer who had been seasoned by years in the trial courts.
5. To accustom or inure; harden: troops who had been seasoned in combat. See synonyms at harden.
6. To moderate; temper.

To become usable, competent, or tempered.

in season

1. Available or ready for eating or other use.
2. Legally permitted to be caught or hunted during a specified period.
3. At the right moment; opportunely.
4. In heat. Used of animals.

1. Not available, permitted, or ready to be eaten, caught, or hunted.
2. Not at the right or proper moment; inopportunely.

[Middle English, from Old French seison, from Latin satiō, satiōn-, act of sowing, from satus, past participle of serere, to plant.]

A characteristic of a time series in which the data experiences regular and predictable changes which recur every calendar year. Any predictable change or pattern in a time series that recurs or repeats over a one-year period can be said to be seasonal.

Note that seasonal effects are different from cyclical effects, as seasonal cycles are contained within one calendar year, while cyclical effects (such as boosted sales due to low unemployment rates) can span time periods shorter or longer than one calendar year.

Investopedia Says:
Seasonality can be seen in many time series, and it's more common than you might think. For example, if you live in a climate with cold winters and warm summers, your home's heating costs probably rise in the winter and fall in the summer. You would reasonably expect the seasonality of your heating costs to recur every year. Similarly, a company that sells sunscreen and tanning products would see sales jump up in the summer, but drop in the winter. Companies that understand the seasonality of their business can time inventories, staffing and other decisions to coincide with the expected seasonality.

It's important to remember the effects of seasonality when analyzing stocks from a fundamental point of view. For example, if you assumed a sunscreen company was going to earn as much in the next three quarters as it did during the recent summer quarter, your earnings estimates would likely be way off the mark!

Related Links:
We show you how to take advantage of periodic trends in the equity markets. Capitalizing On Seasonal Effects
This strategy can be profitable but requires careful timing and analysis of various factors. Find out what they are. The Ups And Downs Of Investing In Cyclical Stocks
Investing during an economic downturn simply means changing your focus. Discover the benefits of defensive stocks. Cyclical Versus Non-Cyclical Stocks

Variations in business or economic activity that recur with regularity as the result of changes in climate, holidays, and vacations. The retail toy business, with its steep sales buildup between Thanksgiving and Christmas and pronounced dropoff thereafter, is an example of seasonality in a dramatic form, though nearly all businesses have some degree of seasonal variation. It is often necessary to make allowances for seasonality when interpreting or projecting financial or economic data, a process economists call seasonal adjustment.

Characteristic of a market, product, or promotion that shows a pattern of variation with changes in seasons. For example, in northern states the hot chocolate market is most active in winter and relatively inactive in summer. Most magazine promotions achieve their highest response rate during the Christmas buying season, because many people give subscriptions as Christmas gifts. Certain mailing lists also perform better at different times of year. A mailing to residents of large cities will not do well in July or August, because many people leave the city for vacation or for weekends.

1. To flavor foods in order to improve their taste. See also seasoning. 2. To age meat, which helps both to tenderize it and to improve its flavor. 3. To smooth out the microscopic roughness of new pots and pans, particularly cast iron, which might cause foods to stick to the cooking surface. This is normally done by coating the cooking surface with vegetable oil, then heating the pan in a 350°F oven for about an hour. Continued use and gentle cleaning will improve the seasoning. Pans may occasionally need reseasoning.

noun

1. A specific length of time characterized by the occurrence of certain conditions or events: period, span, stretch, term. See time.
2. A regular period of sexual excitement in female mammals: estrus, heat, rut². See sex/asexual.
3. A span designated for a given activity: period, time. See time.

verb

1. To impart flavor to: flavor. See taste/bad taste.
2. To make resistant to hardship, especially through continued exposure: acclimate, acclimatize, caseharden, harden, indurate, toughen. See continue/stop/pause, resist/yield.

Definition: flavor food
Antonyms: cook plain

(click to enlarge)
The primary cause of Earth's seasons is the change in the amount of sunlight reaching the surface … (credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)

Any of four divisions of the year according to consistent annual changes in the weather. In the Northern Hemisphere, winter formally begins on the winter solstice, December 21 or 22; spring on the vernal equinox, March 20 or 21; summer on the summer solstice, June 21 or 22; and fall (autumn) on the autumnal equinox, September 22 or 23. In the Southern Hemisphere, the dates of onset of summer and winter are reversed, as are those of spring and fall.

For more information on season, visit Britannica.com.

Part of the Nature series on Weather
Seasons
Temperate
• Spring • Summer • • Autumn • Winter •
Tropical
• Dry season • • Wet season •
Storms
• Thunderstorm • Tornado • • Tropical Cyclone (Hurricane) • • Winter storm • Blizzard •
Precipitation
• Fog • Drizzle • Rain • • Freezing rain • Sleet • • Hail • Snow •
Topics
• Meteorology • • Weather forecasting • • Climate • Air pollution •
Portal · Project

Seasons

Temperate Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Tropical Dry season Cool Hot Wet season

A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather.

In temperate and polar regions generally four seasons are recognized: spring, summer, autumn (fall), and winter.

In some tropical and subtropical regions it is more common to speak of the rainy (or wet, or monsoon) season versus the dry season, as the amount of precipitation may vary more dramatically than the average temperature.

In other tropical areas a three-way division into hot, rainy and cool season is used. In some parts of the world, special "seasons" are loosely defined based upon important events such as a hurricane season, tornado season or a wildfire season.

Illumination of the earth during various seasons

Diagram of the Earth's seasons as seen from the north. Far right: December solstice

Diagram of the Earth's seasons as seen from the south. Far left: June solstice

Fig. 1
This is a diagram of the seasons. Note that, regardless of the time of day (i.e. the Earth's rotation on its axis), the North Pole will be dark, and the South Pole will be illuminated; see also arctic winter. In addition to the density of incident light, the dissipation of light in the atmosphere is greater when it falls at a shallow angle.

Fig. 2
As the Earth revolves around the Sun, the seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres are opposite.

The four season mahjong tiles on the right and the four flower tiles on the other side. The flower tiles are arranged in accord to their growing seasons.

Personifications of the Four Seasons are a frequent theme in Roman mosaics, like this from Complutum.

Causes and effects

The seasons result from the Earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane; it deviates by an angle of about 23.44 degrees. Thus, at any given time during summer or winter, one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the Sun (see Fig. 1). This exposure alternates as the Earth revolves in its orbit. At any given time, regardless of season, the northern and southern hemispheres experience opposite seasons (see Fig. 2 and Month ranges of seasons (below) and Effect of sun angle on climate).

Seasonal weather fluctuations also depend on factors such as proximity to oceans or other large bodies of water, currents in those oceans, El Niño/ENSO and other oceanic cycles, and prevailing winds.

In the temperate and polar regions, seasons are marked by changes in the amount of sunlight, which in turn often causes cycles of dormancy in plants and hibernation in animals. These effects vary with latitude, and with proximity to bodies of water. For example, the South Pole is in the middle of the continent of Antarctica, and therefore a considerable distance from the moderating influence of the southern oceans. The North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean, and thus its temperature extremes are buffered by the presence of all that water. The result is that the South Pole is consistently colder during the southern winter than the North Pole during the northern winter.

The cycle of seasons in the polar and temperate zones of one hemisphere is opposite to that in the other. When it is summer in the Northern hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern hemisphere, and vice versa, and when it is spring in the Northern hemisphere it is autumn in the Southern hemisphere, and vice versa.

In the tropics, there is no noticeable change in the amount of sunlight. However, many regions (famously the northern Indian Ocean) are subject to monsoon rain and wind cycles. Curiously, a study of temperature records over the past 300 years (David Thomson, Science, April 1995) shows that the climatic seasons, and thus the seasonal year, are governed by the anomalistic year rather than the tropical year.

In meteorological terms, the winter solstice and summer solstice (or the date maximum/minimum insolation) do not fall in the middle of winter and summer respectively. The heights of these seasons occur up to a month later due to seasonal lag. Seasons though, are not always defined in meteorological terms; see reckoning

Compared to axial tilt, other factors contribute little to seasonal temperature changes. It's a common misconception that the seasons are the result of the variation in Earth’s distance to the sun due to its elliptical orbit.^[1] Orbital eccentricity can influence temperatures, but on Earth, this effect is small and is more than counteracted by other factors; research shows that the Earth as a whole is actually a few degrees warmer when farther from the sun.^[2] Mars however experiences wide temperature variations and violent dust storms every year at perihelion.^[3] The sun, in its seasonal movement through the sky, passes directly over the equator each year on March and September.

Polar day and night

A common misconception is that, within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the sun rises once in the spring and sets once in the fall; thus, the day and night are erroneously thought to last uninterrupted for 183 calendar days each. This is true only in the immediate region of the poles themselves.

What does happen is that any point north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle will have one period in the summer when the sun does not set, and one period in the winter when the sun does not rise. At progressively higher latitudes, the periods of "midnight sun" (or "midday dark" for the other side of the globe) are progressively longer. For example, at the military and weather station called Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island, Canada (about 450 nautical miles or 830 km from the North Pole), the sun begins to peek above the horizon in mid-February and each day it climbs a bit higher, and stays up a bit longer; by 21 March, the sun is up for 12 hours. However, mid-February is not first light. The sky (as seen from Alert) has been showing twilight, or at least a pre-dawn glow on the horizon, for increasing hours each day, for more than a month before that first sliver of sun appears.

In the weeks surrounding 21 June, the sun is at its highest, and it appears to circle the sky without ever going below the horizon. Eventually, it does go below the horizon, for progressively longer and longer periods each day until, around the middle of October, it disappears for the last time. For a few more weeks, "day" is marked by decreasing periods of twilight. Eventually, for the weeks surrounding 21 December, nothing breaks the darkness. In later winter, the first faint wash of light briefly touches the horizon (for just minutes per day), and then increases in duration and pre-dawn brightness each day until sunrise in February.

Reckoning

Four Seasons

The date at which each of the four temperate season begins varies from culture to culture. In general there are three reckonings, "Astronomical", "Meteorological", and "Traditional".^[4]

Meteorological

Meteorological seasons are reckoned by temperature, with summer being the hottest quarter of the year, and winter the coldest quarter of the year.

Using this reckoning, the Ancient Roman calendar began the year and the spring season on the first of March, with each season occupying three months. This reckoning is also used in Denmark, the former USSR, and Australia. In modern United Kingdom and Ireland there are no hard and fast rules about seasons, and informally many people use this reckoning.

So, in meteorology for the Northern hemisphere:

• spring begins on March 1,
• summer on June 1,
• autumn on September 1, and
• winter on December 1.

Conversely, for the Southern hemisphere:

• summer begins on December 1,
• autumn on March 1,
• winter on June 1, and
• spring on September 1.

Astronomical

In astronomical reckoning, the seasons begin at the solstices and equinoxes. The cross-quarter days are considered seasonal midpoints. The length of these seasons is not uniform because of the elliptical orbit of the earth and its different speeds along that orbit (see Kepler's laws).

In the conventional United States calendar:

• Winter (89 days) begins on 21-22 Dec, the winter solstice
• Spring (92 days) on 20-21 Mar, the spring equinox
• Summer (93 days) on 20-21 June, the summer solstice
• Autumn (90 days) on 22-23 Sept, the autumn equinox

Because of the differences in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (see Meteorological below), it is no longer considered appropriate to use the old northern-seasonal designations for the astronomical quarter days. The modern convention for them is:

• The March Equinox
• The June Solstice
• The September Equinox
• The December Solstice

Traditional

Traditional seasons are reckoned by insolation, with summer being the quarter of the year with the greatest insolation, and winter the quarter with the least. These seasons begin about 4 weeks earlier than the Meteorological seasons, and 7 weeks earlier than the Astronomical seasons.

In Traditional reckoning, the seasons begin at the cross-quarter days. The solstices and equinoxes are the midpoints of these seasons. For example, the days of greatest and least insolation are considered the "midsummer" and "midwinter" respectively.

This reckoning is used by various traditional cultures in the Northern Hemisphere, including East Asian and Irish cultures.

So, according to Traditional reckoning,

• Winter begins on 5-10 Nov, Samhain, 立冬 (lìdōng),
• Spring on 2-7 Feb, Imbolc, 立春 (lìchūn),
• Summer on 4-10 May, Beltane, 立夏 (lìxià), and
• Autumn on 3-10 Aug, Lughnasadh, 立秋 (lìqiū).

And, the middle of each season is considered,

• Mid-winter: 20-23 Dec, winter solstice, 冬至 (dōngzhì)
• Mid-spring: 19-22 Mar, spring equinox, 春分 (chūnfēn)
• Mid-summer: 19-23 June, summer solstice, 夏至 (xiàzhì)
• Mid-autumn: 21-24 Sept, autumn equinox, 秋分 (qiūfēn)

Month	Minang	Arrernte	Gadgerong	Tasmania
January	Beruc	Uterne	Mayurr	Wegtellanyta
Feb/Mar	Meertilluc
April	Pourner	Alhwerr- rpeurle	Nguag/ Gagulong
May				Tunna
Jun/Jul	Mawkur	Alhwerrpa
August	Meerningal
September		Ulpulpe		Pawenya peena
Oct/Nov		Uterne urle	Bandenyirrin
December	Beruc	Uterne		Wegtellanyta

Australian Aboriginal

In Australia, the aboriginal people defined the seasons by what was happening to the plants, animals and weather around them. This led to each separate tribal group have different seasons, some with up to 8 seasons a year. However, most modern Aboriginal Australians follow the Meteorological Seasons, as is conventional amongst non-Aboriginal Australians.

Seasons in images

In hemiboreal and temperate climates:

In winter, the plant can't hold the leaves without Chloryphyll.

In spring, the plants produce Chloryphyll and start to grow again.

In summer, the plants grow. Usually at this time the plants completely mature.

In autumn, the trees stop making Chloryphyll and turn yellow or shades of orange and red then drop their leaves.

See also

• Perennial tea ceremony
• Sports season

External links

• all the festive seasons under one roof
• Australian Weather and Seasons
• When do the Seasons Begin? (from the Bad Astronomer)
• Solstice does not signal season's start (from The Straight Dope)
• Why the Earth has seasons article on h2g2.
• Aboriginal seasons of Kakadu
• Indigenous seasons (Australian Bureau of Meteorology)
• Mt Stirling Seasons
• The Lost Seasons
• Melbourne's six seasons
• The Lengths of the Seasons (numerical integration analysis)

References

Seasons
Temperate: Spring · Summer · Autumn/Fall · Winter Tropical: Dry season · Wet season

zh-classical:四季nrm:Saîsonbat-smg:Metū laikā

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - årstid, sæson, tid, højtid
v. tr. - krydre, sætte smag på, lagre
v. intr. - ældes, lagres, vænnes til, mildne

idioms:

• for a season    for en sæson
• in season    på den rette årstid, i rette tid
• season ticket    sæsonkort, abonnementskort

Nederlands (Dutch)
seizoen, jaargetijde, hoogseizoen, kruiden

Français (French)
n. - saison, temps de, période de, (Cin, Théât, TV) saison, festival, (Vét) en chaleur (un animal), débuts dans le monde (arch), un temps pour (littér)
v. tr. - (Culin) relever, assaisonner, sécher (du bois), abreuver
v. intr. - devenir utilisable/compétent/modéré

idioms:

• for a season    pour une saison
• in good season    au bon moment
• in season    (Vét) (être) en chaleur
• out of season    hors saison, basse saison
• season ticket    (Rail, Théât) carte d'abonnement

Deutsch (German)
n. - Jahreszeit, Spielzeit, Jagdzeit, Saison
v. - würzen, ablagern, mäßigen

idioms:

• for a season    eine Zeitlang
• in good season    früh genug, rechtzeitig
• in season    brünstig, zur rechten Zeit
• out of season    nicht die Saison, der Jahreszeit nicht angemessen, nicht auf dem Markt, unzeitgemäß
• season ticket    Dauerkarte

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εποχή, περίοδος, (Βρετ.) εισιτήριο διαρκείας
v. - μεστώνω, ωριμάζω, σκληραίνω, σκληραγωγώ, (μαγειρ.) καρυκεύω, αλατίζω

idioms:

• close season    περίοδος του έτους όπου απαγορεύεται το κυνήγι ή το ψάρεμα
• for a season    για λίγο καιρό
• high season    εποχή μέγιστης προσέλκυσης επισκεπτών (σε θέρετρο κτλ.)
• in season    στη εποχή μου
• season ticket    διαρκές εισιτήριο, εισιτήριο πολλαπλών διαδρομών

Italiano (Italian)
condire, stagione

idioms:

• for a season    per un po' di tempo
• in season    in calore
• season ticket    abbonamento

Português (Portuguese)
n. - estação do ano (f), época (f), oportunidade (f)
v. - temperar

idioms:

• for a season    durante uma temporada
• high season    alta temporada
• in season    em estação
• season ticket    assinatura de temporada

Русский (Russian)
время года, сезон, период, промежуток времени, подходящее время, сезонный билет, абонемент, год, период гона, делать пригодным для употребления, акклиматизировать, придавать вкус, остроту, придавать интерес, подвергать старению, вялить

idioms:

• for a season    в течение некоторого времени
• high season    разгар сезона
• in season    вовремя, в подходящий момент, кстати
• season ticket    абонемент, сезонный билет

Español (Spanish)
n. - estación, temporada
v. tr. - condimentar, sazonar, madurar, infundir, moderar, templar, habituar, aclimatar, curar, secar (la madera)
v. intr. - sazonarse, acostumbrarse, secarse, curarse (la madera)

idioms:

• for a season    por una temporada
• in good season    en buena temporada
• in season    en celo, en sazón, oportuno, a tiempo
• out of season    fuera de temporada
• season ticket    abono

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - årstid, säsong, helg
v. - vänja, acklimatisera, lagra, låta mogna, krydda, smaksätta, salta och peppra

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
季, 季节, 旺季, 节期, 时令, 活跃季节, 给...调味, 使得到锻炼, 加味于, 使适应, 变习惯, 变合用

idioms:

• for a season    一会儿
• in season    当令, 及时, 及早
• season ticket    长期季票, 定期车票

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 季, 季節, 旺季, 節期, 時令, 活躍季節
v. tr. - 給...調味, 使得到鍛煉, 加味於, 使適應
v. intr. - 變習慣, 變合用

idioms:

• for a season    一會兒
• in season    當令, 及時, 及早
• season ticket    長期季票, 定期車票

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 계절, 제철, 인생의 한 시기
v. tr. - ~에 맛을 들이다, ~에 흥미를 돋우다, 성숙시키다
v. intr. - 익숙해지다, (재목 따위가) 마르다, 맛이 들다

idioms:

• in season    때맞춘, 알맞은 때의, 한창인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 季節, 時期, 旬, 時節
v. - 味を付ける, 興趣を添える, 乾燥させる, 熟成する, 慣らす, 鍛える

idioms:

• for a season    しばらくの間
• in season    出盛りで, 旬で, 書き入れ時で, シーズン中で, 猟期で, 時宜を得て, 発情して
• off season    閑散期
• season ticket    定期乗車券, 通し入場券, 定期券

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) موسم, فصل من فصول ألسنه (فعل) يجفف, يملح, يتبل ألطعام‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עונה, תקופה, זמן, כרטיס מנוי, תקופת פעילות חברתית, זמן מתאים, תקופה בלתי-מוגדרת, תקופה של שליטת אופנה מסוימת‬
v. tr. - ‮תיבל, הוסיף תבלין, אקלם, הרגיל, הקשיח, תירגל את‬
v. intr. - ‮התאקלם, התרגל, התקשח, התבגר‬

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