sunup

sunup n [There are scattered attestations in Brit use 1572→ (not in current OED), but the alleged Yorkshire ex in EDD at sun sb. 1.(36) is doubtful.] widespread, but less freq Nth See Map Cf sundown n

The time when the sun rises.

1712 in 1924 CT Hist. Soc. Coll. 21.377, Wee Set out by or before Sun up, for Wyndham, with a Design to go to Church. 1781 in 1895 PA Mag. Hist. & Biog. 19.213 sePA, November 27. . . Orders for the troops to march at sunup. 1826 Cooper Last of Mohicans 1.69 nNY, One would think such a horse as that might get over a good deal of ground atwixt sun-up and sun-down. 1859 (1968) Bartlett Americanisms 463, Sun-up. Southern for sunrise. When the Southern traveller starts on his journey before the appearance of the sun in the morning, he says he “put out bright and yarly, an hour . . before sun-up.” 1884 Anglia 7.262 Sth, S Midl [Black], Fo’ sun-up = early in the morning. 1887 Francis Saddle & Mocassin 31 WY, Leaving the waggon next morning at “sun-up,” [we] set out in search of game. 1894 DN 1.334 NJ, Sun up: sunrise; not common, but still in use. 1898 Westcott Harum 172 cNY, I s’pose I got kind o’ used to bein’ cold an’ tired . . , an’ goin’ out to fodder cattle ’fore sun-up. 1899 (1912) Green VA Folk-Speech 429. 1902 DN 2.246 sIL, Sunup. . . Sunrise; the latter never used. 1903 DN 2.332 seMO. 1906 DN 3.123 sIN, Sun-up. . . Always for sunrise. 1907 DN 3.237 nwAR, Sunup. . . Sunrise. The latter word not used. 1909 DN 3.377 eAL, wGA. 1927 AmSp 3.139 eME, The older people. . . referred to dawn as “sun-up,” dusk as “sun-down.” 1939 LANE Map 73 NEng, [Sunup is scattered throughout the region, but usually as a secondary response (after sunrise); it is frequently qualified as being heard from others, obsolete, or “older though still in use.”] 1940 Faulkner Hamlet 317 MS, And if I was you, . . that’s just exactly where I would be come sunup tomorrow. 1965–70 DARE (Qu. A2, The time when the sun first comes into sight) 182 Infs, widespread, but less freq Nth, Sunup; (Qu. A1, . . The time in the early morning before the sun comes into sight) 16 Infs, scattered, (Just) (be)fore sunup; NY66, OK31, PA76, Sunup; (Qu. A16, A very long period of time: “I haven’t seen him _____.”) Inf OK53, Since sunup; (Qu. BB54, When a sick person is past hope of recovery . . he’s [a] _____) Inf ID5, Seen his last sunup. 1967–68 DARE Tape AR47, And it’s from sunup till sundown; it wasn’t eight hours a day; CA36, From sundown till sunup. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.150 Upper MW (as of c1950), We start to work before sunrise. . . The usual responses are sunrise and sunup, the distribution of the latter indicating a Midland correlation. No significant contrasts appear among the three types of infs. . . Checklist responses confirm the field records. Sun-up has a 49% frequency in southern Iowa but only 31% in northern Iowa, with 58% in Nebraska and 38% in South Dakota, but only 8% in Minnesota and 17% in North Dakota. 1989 Pederson LAGS Tech. Index 17 Gulf Region, [406 infs, Sunup; 343 infs, Sunrise; 162 infs, Daylight.] 2004 Ohm Spatzies 105 KS, Our time on the farm was nearly filled from sunup to sunset. 2013–14 DARE Online Surv. WI Engl. (Qu. A1, What do you call the time in the early morning before the sun comes into sight?) 5 Infs, se, csWI, Sunup. [5 of 40 eligible Infs who responded to this question, from 4 of 19 represented target communities; See Suppl Maps]


Etymological Supplement:

1572 Gwalther An Hundred, Threescore and Fiftene Homolyes or Sermons 737, He . . beginneth a newe sermon which he continueth untill morning, and then by sunne up, taketh his iourney.

<Early English Books Online: STC 2nd ed. 25013>

1702 Privilegia Londini (London, Brown & Walthoe) 377, That no Trincke shall stand to fish for Whitings till the Ember-Week before Michaelmas yearly. . . And upon Saturday Sun up to wash off his Net, hale up, and go home, and not to return to his Labour again til Monday-Morning day-light.

<https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=dul1.ark:/13960/t3cz45c1p;view=1up;seq=383;size=150>