equinox

i don't know if all writers are word nerds, but i certainly have logophilia. and i subscribe to merriam-webster's word of the day email service. today's word is equinox. in other words, summer's over, kids.

equinox \EE-kwuh-nahks\ noun

1 : either of the two points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic
*2 : either of the two times each year (as about March 21 and September 23) when the sun crosses the equator



Example sentence:
During the equinox, day and night are approximately of equal length around the world.

Did you know?
"Equinox" descends from "aequus," the Latin word for "equal," and "nox," the Latin word for "night" — a fitting history for a word that describes days of the year when the daytime and nighttime are equal in length. In the northern hemisphere, the vernal equinox marks the first day of spring and occurs when the sun moves north across the equator. ("Vernal" comes from the Latin word "ver," meaning "spring.") The autumnal equinox marks the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere and occurs when the sun crosses the equator going south. In contrast, a solstice is either of the two moments in the year when the sun's apparent path is farthest north or south from the equator.