seasonable

English

Etymology

season +‎ -able

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiːzənəbəl/, /ˈsiːznəbəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

seasonable (comparative more seasonable, superlative most seasonable)

1. Opportune; occurring at an appropriate or suitable time.
   • 1661, Thomas, transl. Salusbury, “Galilaeus Galilaeus Lyncaeus, His Systeme of the World”, in Mathematical Collections and Translations, The Second Dialogue, London: William Leybourn, translation of Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo by Galileo Galilei, page 95:

     Nor is it seasonable to have to do with Hercules, whil'st he is enraged, and amongst the Furies, but when he is telling merry tales amongst the Meonion Damosels.

2. Appropriate to the current season of the year.

   The temperature outside was quite seasonable, neither warmer nor colder than I had expected.

   • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde:

     It was a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her, and flying wrack of the most diaphanous and lawny texture.

3. (obsolete) Ephemeral; lasting for just one season.
4. (obsolete) In season (said of game when it is legal to be hunted and killed).
5. (obsolete) Well-seasoned; matured (e.g. timber).

Synonyms

• (occurring at an appropriate or suitable time): well-timed, timesome; see also Thesaurus:timely
• (lasting for just one season): passing, transitory; see also Thesaurus:ephemeral

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “general”): unseasonable
• (antonym(s) of “occurring at an appropriate or suitable time”): ill-timed, untime; see also Thesaurus:untimely
• (antonym(s) of “lasting for just one season”): evergreen, perennial; see also Thesaurus:eternal

Derived terms

• seasonableness

Translations

appropriate to current season

• Bulgarian: подходящ за сезона (podhodjašt za sezona)
• Finnish: vuodenaikaan sopiva
• Greek:

  Ancient: καίριος (kaírios)

• Manx: traaoil
• Scottish Gaelic: tràthail

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “seasonable”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.