sunwing

From sun +‎ wing.

sunwing (plural sunwings)

1. (rare) A solar greenhouse, sun porch or solarium added as an extension to a building, in order to provide a space that captures heat from sunlight.
   • 1985, Merilyn Mohr, Sunwings, page 18:

     The common-wall opening was left uncovered, but the chill from the sunwing during cold nights was so noticeable that we decided to install pocket doors and insulate the remainder of the wall. Foss thus created a buffered sunwing, an addition outside the thermal envelope of the house.

   • 1990, James Lawrence, The Harrowsmith Country Life Reader, page 58:

     Many of the hard-earned lessons of the solar home industry are being brought to bear on sunwing design.

2. (science fiction) A wing or extension designed to capture energy from sunlight.
   • 2003, Sean Mcmullen, Eyes of the Calculor:

     While we still had the giant sunwings we traveled the world, exploring other continents from the air.

   • 2011, Poul Anderson, Orion Shall Rise:

     Slowly, on parallel tracks into the breeze, the sunwings rolled off.

3. (rare, poetic) A ray of sunlight.
   • 1910, William Dowsing, Sheffield Vignettes: A Series of Sonnets, page 3:

     A thousand random fragrances of morn Float from lush solitudes and leafy dells, While summer's sunwings rest on lake and tree.

   • 1984, Francis Scarfe, Grounds for Conceit, page 8:

     A boy awakening under a plane-tree Whose bark peels every grade of green, With sunwings winking in-between?