first frost
3
3.5
- noun
- UK
:
primer helada
- We haven't had our first frost where I live, but it's coming soon.
- first frost hits
- first frost date
- first frost of the season
And so it'll tell you your last frost date and your first frost date.
- And so it'll tell you your last frost date and your first frost date.
- Everything produced flowers for the most part by our first frost date.
- No, but it's apparently an official frost, first frost date.
Examples
-
To the south of the house, almost an acre of pumpkin, squash, watermelon, and tomatoes was just starting to turn brown under the nipping of the first frost.
Fiction book (1990) -
Warm season grasses turn completely brown after the first frost.
Blog text (28) -
But today we're pretty close to our first frost in terms of growing most plants we have.
-
Three days later, our first frost came.
Blog text (3) -
Determine the anticipated date for the first frost for your area.
Blog text (22) -
In Oklahoma City, the first frost is traditionally between Nov. 1 and Nov. 10.
Blog text (2) -
According to the weather service, the average arrival of the first frost for Chicago, signified by temperatures between 28 and 32 degrees, is Oct. 15.
Blog text (9) -
In the fall, the dates of the first frost and the first measurable snowpack have been delayed by approximately 10 and 8 days, respectively (Hamburg et al. 2012).
Academic text (2012) -
Under her care, even the most delicate hybrids lasted past the first frost so that in November there were still roses blooming at Haddan, although by then, the edge of each petal was often encased in a layer of ice.
Fiction book (2001) -
The best time to plant garlic is after the first frost, usually in late fall.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the first occurrence of frost in a season' is directly derivable from 'first' (preceding in time) combined with 'frost' (a layer of ice crystals). This literal modifier+noun composition is common across languages and follows straightforward compositional semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
First frost is the name for the first time frost appears in a season, like a thin white layer on leaves one cold morning. Because that cold often kills tender plants and ends the growing season, the first frost became a sign of the 'start of cold weather' and a warning for gardeners and farmers.