Sunrise
nounThe moment when the sun first appears above the horizon in the morning, or the time at which this happens.
How to spell sunrise
7 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce sunrise
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does sunrise mean?
- nounThe moment when the sun first appears above the horizon in the morning, or the time at which this happens.
Sunrise in a sentence
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The hikers set off before sunrise to reach the summit by noon.
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The photographer waited on the cliff to capture the sunrise over the bay.
Where does sunrise come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This is a transparent English compound formed from two very old native words. 'Sun' descends from Old English 'sunne', a Germanic word for the star at the centre of our sky, with relatives across the Germanic languages such as Dutch 'zon' and German 'Sonne'. 'Rise' comes from Old English 'risan', meaning to move upward or stand up, also of Germanic origin. The two were joined to describe the daily moment when the sun appears above the horizon, with the compound becoming common in writing during the late medieval and early modern period. Because both parts are familiar everyday words, the spelling holds few surprises; the only thing to watch is keeping it as a single solid word rather than splitting it into 'sun rise'.
How the word is built
- sun (the star)
- rise (the act of going up)
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