Library / English Dictionary

SUN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: sunned    , sunning   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system

Example:

the Earth revolves around the Sun

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Instance hypernyms:

star ((astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior)

Meronyms (parts of "Sun"):

chromosphere (a gaseous layer of the sun's atmosphere (extending from the photosphere to the corona) that is visible during a total eclipse of the sun)

photosphere (the intensely luminous surface of a star (especially the sun))

Holonyms ("Sun" is a member of...):

solar system (the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any star around which a planetary system revolves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("sun" is a kind of...):

star ((astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person considered as a source of warmth or energy or glory etc

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("sun" is a kind of...):

important person; influential person; personage (a person whose actions and opinions strongly influence the course of events)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The rays of the sun

Example:

the shingles were weathered by the sun and wind

Synonyms:

sun; sunlight; sunshine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("sun" is a kind of...):

light; visible light; visible radiation ((physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation)

Meronyms (parts of "sun"):

sunbeam; sunray (a ray of sunlight)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sun"):

sunburst (a sudden emergence of the sun from behind clouds)

Derivation:

sun (expose one's body to the sun)

sun (expose to the rays of the sun or affect by exposure to the sun)

Sense 5

Meaning:

First day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians

Synonyms:

Dominicus; Lord's Day; Sun; Sunday

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("Sun" is a kind of...):

day of rest; rest day (a day set aside for rest)

Holonyms ("Sun" is a part of...):

weekend (a time period usually extending from Friday night through Sunday; more loosely defined as any period of successive days including one and only one Sunday)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Expose one's body to the sun

Synonyms:

sun; sunbathe

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "sun" is one way to...):

lie (be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

sun (the rays of the sun)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Expose to the rays of the sun or affect by exposure to the sun

Example:

These herbs suffer when sunned

Synonyms:

insolate; solarise; solarize; sun

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "sun" is one way to...):

expose (expose or make accessible to some action or influence)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

sun (the rays of the sun)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The rising sun shone red upon the man's skin.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Skin which is dark brown or black and it never burns when exposed to the sun.

(Fitzpatrick Skin Type VI, NCI Thesaurus)

It is a photodermatitis, characterized by the formation of vesicles and scarring on sun exposed areas.

(Hydroa Vacciniforme, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare type of cancer that forms on or just beneath the skin, usually in parts of the body that have been exposed to the sun.

(Merkel cell cancer, NCI Dictionary)

Skin which is brown and it burns very rarely when exposed to the sun.

(Fitzpatrick Skin Type V, NCI Thesaurus)

Skin which is darker white and it sometimes burns when exposed to the sun.

(Fitzpatrick Skin Type III, NCI Thesaurus)

She's got such a soft heart, it will melt like butter in the sun if anyone looks sentimentlly at her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

They knew, of course, they must go straight east, toward the rising sun; and they started off in the right way.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

The sun shone Dora, and the birds sang Dora.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Ha!” thought she, as she woke up and looked at it through the window, “after all I cannot prevent the sun rising.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)