Sun Meaning

/sʌn/
A1

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Listen pronunciation

nameThe star that is closest to the Earth.

nounA star, especially when seen as the centre of any single solar system.

By the time you got there, the sun had set.
The sky was fiery with the setting sun.
The sun was shining and birds were singing.
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Without the ____, there would be no daylight and all life on Earth would die.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to wear a strong sunscreen to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the bright ____.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥der. Proto-Germanic *sunnô Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ Proto-West Germanic *sunnā Old English sunne Middle English sonne English sun From Middle English soen, son, sone, sonne, sun, sune, sunna, sunne, sunnæ, synne, zonne, zunne, from Old English sunna, sunne, sunnu (“sun”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnā, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ (“sun”), from heteroclitic inanimate Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wen-, oblique of Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). Cognates Cognate with Scots sun (“sun”), Yola zin (“sun”), North Frisian san, Sen (“sun”), Saterland Frisian Sunne (“sun”), West Frisian sinne (“sun”), Alemannic German ŝchunna, ŝchunnà, sònnò, sunna, sunnu, Sunnä (“sun”), Bavarian Sun, suna, sune, Sunn, sunne (“sun”), Cimbrian sonde, sunn, zunna (“sun”), Dutch zon, zonne (“sun”), German Sonne (“sun”), Limburgish Ṣon, Sonn, zón (“sun”), Low German Sünn, Sünne (“sun”), Luxembourgish Sonn (“sun”), Mòcheno sunn (“sun”), Vilamovian zun, zunn (“sun”), West Flemish zunne (“sun”), Yiddish זון (zun, “sun”), Icelandic sunna (“sun”), Crimean Gothic sune (“sun”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 (sunnō, “the Sun”); outside of Germanic, Cornish howl (“sun”), Irish súil (“eye; expectation, hope”), Manx sooill (“eye”), Scottish Gaelic sùil (“eye; vision; glance, look; expectation, hope”), Welsh haul, huan (“sun”), Latin sōl (“sun”), Greek ήλιος (ílios, “sun”), Albanian diell (“sun”), Latgalian and Latvian saule (“sun”), Lithuanian saulė (“sun”), Belarusian со́нца (sónca, “sun”), Bulgarian слъ́нце (slǎ́nce, “sun”), Czech slunce (“sun”), Macedonian солнце (solnce), сонце (sonce, “sun”), Polish słońce (“sun”), Russian со́лнце (sólnce, “sun”), Serbo-Croatian су̑нце, sȗnce (“sun”), Slovak slnce (“sun”), Slovene sonce (“sun”), Ukrainian со́нце (sónce, “sun”), Avestan 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆 (huuar^ə, “sun”), Central Kurdish خۆر (xor, “sun”), Gurani وەر (wer, “sun; front”), Ossetian хор (xor), хур (xur, “sun”), Persian هور (hur), خور (xor / xwar, “sun”), Shughni хӣр (xīr, “sun”), Yaghnobi хур (xur, “sun”), Tocharian B swāñco (“beam, ray, sunbeam”), Hindi सूर्य (sūrya), Sanskrit स्वर् (svar, “sun”). Related to sol, Sol, Surya, and Helios. More at solar.

"And the cite hath no nede of the ſunne nether of the mone to lyghten hit. For the bꝛynghtnes off God dyd light hitt: and the lambe was the light off hit." — 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Revelacion off Sanct Jhon the Devine xxj:[23], folio cccxlij, recto:
""I suppose I may have leave to do that!" Yes, she could do that, he said, but there was no road to that place; it lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and she could never find her way there." — 1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 233:
"'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed." — 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
"Because Haestrom's sun has overwhelmed the planet's protective magnetosphere, humans foolhardy enough to venture into geth-controlled Haestrom must exercise extreme caution. Minutes of radiation exposure will overload shields and hours of exposure will kill." — 2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Haestrom Codex entry:
"Lambs that did frisk in the sun." — c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words

CEFR Practice Quiz
Without the ____, there would be no daylight and all life on Earth would die.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to wear a strong sunscreen to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the bright ____.

Expand Your Vocabulary with LexUp

Master English words using smart flashcards, play exciting word rounds, and compete with other learners worldwide.

Browse CEFR Words Alphabetically