Adjacent Words

Dawn definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DAWN, v.i.
1. To begin to grow light in the morning; to grow light; as, the day dawns; the morning dawns.
It began to dawn towards the first day of the
week. Matthew 28.
2. To begin to open or expand; to begin to show intellectual light, or knowledge; as, the genius of the youth begins to dawn.
When life awakes and dawns at every line. Pope.
3. To glimmer obscurely.
4. To begin to open or appear.
DAWN, n. 1. The break of day; the first appearance of light, in the morning.
They arose about the dawn of the day. Josh 6.
The word may express the whole time from the first appearance of light to sunrise.
2. First opening or expansion; first appearance of intellectual light; as the dawn of genius, intellect, or mental powers.
3. Beginning; rise; first appearance; as the dawn of time.
4. A feeble or incipient light; first beams.
These tender circumstances diffuse a dawn of serenity over the soul. Pope.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the first light of day; "we got up before dawn"; "they talked until morning" [syn: dawn, dawning, morning, aurora, first light, daybreak, break of day, break of the day, dayspring, sunrise, sunup, cockcrow] [ant: sundown, sunset]
2: the earliest period; "the dawn of civilization"; "the morning of the world" [syn: dawn, morning]
3: an opening time period; "it was the dawn of the Roman Empire" v
1: become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions; "It dawned on him that she had betrayed him"; "she was penetrated with sorrow" [syn: click, get through, dawn, come home, get across, sink in, penetrate, fall into place]
2: appear or develop; "The age of computers had dawned"
3: become light; "It started to dawn, and we had to get up"

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English, probably back-formation from dawning daybreak, alteration of dawing, from Old English dagung, from dagian Date: 15th century 1. to begin to grow light as the sun rises 2. to begin to appear or develop 3. to begin to be perceived or understood <the truth finally dawned on us> II. noun Date: 15th century 1. the first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise 2. beginning <the dawn of the space age>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 the first light of day; daybreak. 2 the beginning or incipient appearance of something. --v.intr. 1 (of a day) begin; grow light. 2 (often foll. by on, upon) begin to become evident or understood (by a person). Phrases and idioms: dawn chorus the singing of many birds at the break of day. Etymology: orig. as verb: back-form. f. dawning, ME f. earlier dawing after Scand. (as DAY)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dawn Dawn, n. 1. The break of day; the first appearance of light in the morning; show of approaching sunrise. And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve. --Thomson. No sun, no moon, no morn, no noon, No dawn, no dusk, no proper time of day. --Hood. 2. First opening or expansion; first appearance; beginning; rise. ``The dawn of time.'' --Thomson. These tender circumstances diffuse a dawn of serenity over the soul. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dawn Dawn, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dawned; p. pr. & vb. n. Dawning.] [OE. dawnen, dawen, dagen, daien, AS. dagian to become day, to dawn, fr. d[ae]g day; akin to D. dagen, G. tagen, Icel. daga, Dan. dages, Sw. dagas. See Day. [root]71.] 1. To begin to grow light in the morning; to grow light; to break, or begin to appear; as, the day dawns; the morning dawns. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene . . . to see the sepulcher. --Matt. xxviii. 1. 2. To began to give promise; to begin to appear or to expand. ``In dawning youth.'' --Dryden. When life awakes, and dawns at every line. --Pope. Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid. --Heber,

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(dawns, dawning, dawned) 1. Dawn is the time of day when light first appears in the sky, just before the sun rises. Nancy woke at dawn. N-VAR 2. The dawn of a period of time or a situation is the beginning of it. (LITERARY) ...the dawn of the radio age. N-SING: usu the N of n 3. If something is dawning, it is beginning to develop or come into existence. (WRITTEN) Throughout Europe a new railway age, that of the high-speed train, has dawned... VERB: V • dawning ...the dawning of the space age... N-SING: oft the 4. When you say that a particular day dawned, you mean it arrived or began, usually when it became light. (WRITTEN) When the great day dawned, the first concern was the weather... VERB: V 5. at the crack of dawn: see crack

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Break, begin to be light, grow light. 2. Appear, open, break, begin to appear. II. n. Daybreak, cockcrowing, dayspring, dawning, daypeep, peep of day, prime of day, first blush of the morning, break of day.

Moby Thesaurus

A, advent, alpha, antemeridian, appear, appearance, arise, arrival, arrive, aurora, auroral, awakening, begin, beginning, birth, blast-off, break, break of day, brighten, brightening, broad day, chanticleer, cockcrow, cocklight, come to mind, commence, commencement, crack of dawn, creation, cutting edge, dawning, day, day glow, day-peep, daybreak, daylight, dayshine, dayspring, daytide, daytime, develop, dusk, edge, emerge, emergence, establishment, first brightening, first light, flying start, foundation, fresh start, full sun, genesis, gleam, green flash, grow bright, grow light, inauguration, inception, institution, jump-off, kick-off, leading edge, light, light of day, lighten, matin, matinal, matutinal, midday sun, morn, morning, new departure, noonlight, noontide light, occur to, oncoming, onset, opening, origin, originate, origination, outbreak, outset, outstart, peep of day, prime, ray of sunshine, rise, running start, send-off, setting in motion, setting-up, shine, square one, start, start-off, starting point, sun spark, sunbeam, sunbreak, sunburst, sunlight, sunrise, sunshine, sunup, take-off, twilight, unfold, vestibule of Day