Question of the Day #35

One Indian-summer afternoon the sky turned a distinct chartreuse.

上記の文で、Indian summer の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "Indian summer" mean?

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Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

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解答

意味：インディアンサマー、小春日和
詳細な説明は、下記英語の説明参照。

Answer

According to the Grammarist:

Indian summer refers to a specific weather phenomenon. Indian Summer is a period of time in autumn when the days are warm, the nights are chilly and the atmosphere is dry, following the first cold snap.

Etymology/語源

Grammaristによると、


Indian summerという表現が著作物で初めて使われたのが、１７７８年のフランス系アメリカ人のJ.H. St. John de Crèvecoeurが書いたLetters From an American Farmer。いつ頃から使われた表現かは不明。由来に関しては、幾つかの説がある。一つは、アメリカの原住民がもっとも狩りを好んでした時期だったとか。また、Indian summerは「偽の夏」という軽蔑的な表現だったという説もある。

According to the Grammarist:

The term Indian summer was first seen in a book entitled Letters From an American Farmer, written by French-American J. H. St. John de Crèvecoeur in 1778. It is unknown how long the term was in use before this publication. There are several theories as to the origin of this word. One theory is that the Native Americans’ favorite time to hunt was Indian summer. Another theory is that Indian summer is a pejorative to describe a counterfeit summer.

Examples

• As the warm Indian summer gives way to cool evenings, head to South America and focus on two wines that come from Chile and Argentina respectively.
• English already had names for the phenomenon – St. Luke’s Summer, St. Martin’s Summer or All-Hallown Summer – but these have now all but disappeared and, like the rest of the world, the term Indian summer has been used in the UK for at least a century. 
• After the cold snap, a pleasant spell of Indian summer weather allowed us to finish building the backyard deck.