[f. SUN sb. + RAY sb.1]
1. A ray proceeding from the sun; a ray of sunlight, a sunbeam. Chiefly poet. or rhet.
1829. Poe, Al Aaraaf, 361. The sun-ray dropp’d in Lemnos.
1886. W. J. Tucker, E. Europe, 226. Gems … twinkling like stars, dazzling like the fiercest sun-rays.
1905. ‘Q’ (Quiller-Couch), Shining Ferry, vi. 68. The front door had a fanlight through which fell one broken sunray.
2. A figure representing this; pl. lines radiating from a center or central disk.
1901. Westm. Gaz., 20 Nov., 7/2. The reverse side [of the medal] is surmounted by an impression of the Crown, from which spring sun-rays of the conventional pattern.
b. attrib., denoting a pattern of radiating pleats.
1897. Daily News, 2 Jan., 6/3. A garden-party dress is carried out in pink crêpe de chine, the skirt being pleated in the sun-ray fashion now so very much in vogue, the pleats very narrow at the waist and spreading out towards the hem.
1904. Westm. Gaz., 28 June, 4/2. A sunray voile skirt.
So Sun-raying a., giving forth rays of sunlight.
1850. Allingham, Poems, Æolian Harp, ‘O pale green sea,’ i. The sun-raying West.
