I.the summer season, as one half of the year, from March twenty-second to September twenty-second (the other half was hiems, the winter season); cf. Dig. 43, 19: “aestas et hiems, nox et dies,” Vulg. Gen. 8, 22: in a restricted sense, the summer, the three months from the entrance of the sun into Cancer to the autumnal equinox (the entrance into Libra): “Arabes campos et montes hieme et aestate peragrantes,” Cic. Div. 1, 42: “(formica) parat in aestate cibum sibi,” Vulg. Prov. 6, 8: “aestate ineunte,” at the beginning of summer, Cic. Att. 4, 2: “nova,” Verg. A. 1, 430: “media,” midsummer, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 12, 35: “jam adulta,” Tac. A. 2, 23; so Aur. Vict. Caes. 32, 3 Arntz.: “summa,” the height of summer, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 31: “exacta,” Sall. J. 65: “finita,” Vulg. Jer. 8, 20: cum affecta jam prope aestate uvas a sole mitescere tempus est, Cic. Oecon. ap. Non. 161, 2.— “With anni,” summer-time, Gell. 2, 21: “aestate anni flagrantissima,” id. 19, 5.—Since war among the ancients was carried on only in summer, aestas is sometimes (like θέρος in Gr.) used by the histt. for,
II. A year, Vell. 2, 47; 82: “quae duabus aestatibus gesta,” Tac. A. 6, 39; “so. te jam septuma portat omnibus errantem terris aestas,” Verg. A. 1, 756.—
C. Summer heat: “ignea,” Hor. C. 1, 17, 3.— *
D. Freckles as caused by heat: “aestates,” Plin. 28, 12, 50, § 185, where Jan. reads testas.
