Adjacent Words

Night definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NIGHT, n. [The sense may be dark, black, or it may be the decline of the day, from declining, departing.]
1. That part of the natural day when the sun is beneath the horizon, or the time from sunset to sunrise.
2. The time after the close of life; death. John 9.
She closed her eyes in everlasting night.
3. A state of ignorance; intellectual and moral darkness; heathenish ignorance. Romans 13.
4. Adversity; a state of affliction and distress. Isaiah 21.
5. Obscurity; a state of concealment from the eye or the mind; unintelligibleness.
Nature and natures works lay hid in night.
In the night, suddenly; unexpectedly. Luke 12.
To-night, in this night. To-night the moon will be eclipsed.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside [syn: night, nighttime, dark] [ant: day, daylight, daytime]
2: a period of ignorance or backwardness or gloom
3: the period spent sleeping; "I had a restless night"
4: the dark part of the diurnal cycle considered a time unit; "three nights later he collapsed"
5: darkness; "it vanished into the night"
6: a shortening of nightfall; "they worked from morning to night"
7: the time between sunset and midnight; "he watched television every night"
8: Roman goddess of night; daughter of Erebus; counterpart of Greek Nyx [syn: Nox, Night]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English niht; akin to Old High German naht night, Latin noct-, nox, Greek nykt-, nyx Date: before 12th century 1. the time from dusk to dawn when no sunlight is visible 2. a. an evening or night taken as an occasion or point of time <the opening night> b. an evening set aside for a particular purpose 3. a. the quality or state of being dark b. a condition or period felt to resemble the darkness of night: as (1) a period of dreary inactivity or affliction (2) absence of moral values c. the beginning of darkness ; nightfall • nightless adjective II. adjective Date: before 12th century 1. of, relating to, or associated with the night <night air> 2. intended for use at night <a night lamp> 3. a. existing, occurring, or functioning at night <night baseball> <a night nurse> b. active or functioning best at night <night people>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the period of darkness between one day and the next; the time from sunset to sunrise. 2 nightfall (shall not reach home before night). 3 the darkness of night (as black as night). 4 a night or evening appointed for some activity, or spent or regarded in a certain way (last night of the Proms; a great night out). Phrases and idioms: night-blindness = NYCTALOPIA. night fighter an aeroplane used for interception at night. night-hawk 1 a nocturnal prowler, esp. a thief. 2 a nightjar. night-life entertainment available at night in a town. night-light a dim light kept on in a bedroom at night. night-long throughout the night. night nurse a nurse on duty during the night. night-owl colloq. a person active at night. night safe a safe with access from the outer wall of a bank for the deposit of money etc. when the bank is closed. night school an institution providing evening classes for those working by day. night shift a shift of workers employed during the night. night-soil the contents of cesspools etc. removed at night, esp. for use as manure. night-time the time of darkness. night-watchman 1 a person whose job is to keep watch by night. 2 Cricket an inferior batsman sent in when a wicket falls near the close of a day's play. Derivatives: nightless adj. Etymology: OE neaht, niht f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Night Night, n. [OE. night, niht, AS. neaht, niht; akin to D. nacht, OS. & OHG. naht, G. nacht, Icel. n?tt, Sw. natt, Dan. nat, Goth. nachts, Lith. naktis, Russ. noche, W. nos, Ir. nochd, L. nox, noctis, gr. ?, ?, Skr. nakta, nakti. [root] 265. Cf. Equinox, Nocturnal.] 1. That part of the natural day when the sun is beneath the horizon, or the time from sunset to sunrise; esp., the time between dusk and dawn, when there is no light of the sun, but only moonlight, starlight, or artificial light. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. --Gen. i. 5. 2. Hence: (a) Darkness; obscurity; concealment. Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night. --Pope. (b) Intellectual and moral darkness; ignorance. (c) A state of affliction; adversity; as, a dreary night of sorrow. (d) The period after the close of life; death. She closed her eyes in everlasting night. --Dryden. (e) A lifeless or unenlivened period, as when nature seems to sleep. ``Sad winter's night''. --Spenser. Note: Night is sometimes used, esp. with participles, in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, night-blooming, night-born, night-warbling, etc. Night by night, Night after night, nightly; many nights. So help me God, as I have watched the night, Ay, night by night, in studying good for England. --Shak. Night bird. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The moor hen (Gallinula chloropus). (b) The Manx shearwater (Puffinus Anglorum). Night blindness. (Med.) See Hemeralopia. Night cart, a cart used to remove the contents of privies by night. Night churr, (Zo["o]l.), the nightjar. Night crow, a bird that cries in the night. Night dog, a dog that hunts in the night, -- used by poachers. Night fire. (a) Fire burning in the night. (b) Ignis fatuus; Will-o'-the-wisp; Jask-with-a-lantern. Night flyer (Zo["o]l.), any creature that flies in the night, as some birds and insects. night glass, a spyglass constructed to concentrate a large amount of light, so as see objects distinctly at night. --Totten. Night green, iodine green. Night hag, a witch supposed to wander in the night. Night hawk (Zo["o]l.), an American bird (Chordeiles Virginianus), allied to the goatsucker. It hunts the insects on which it feeds toward evening, on the wing, and often, diving down perpendicularly, produces a loud whirring sound, like that of a spinning wheel. Also sometimes applied to the European goatsuckers. It is called also bull bat. Night heron (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of herons of the genus Nycticorax, found in various parts of the world. The best known species is Nycticorax griseus, or N. nycticorax, of Europe, and the American variety (var. n[ae]vius). The yellow-crowned night heron (Nycticorax violaceus) inhabits the Southern States. Called also qua-bird, and squawk. Night house, a public house, or inn, which is open at night. Night key, a key for unfastening a night latch. Night latch, a kind of latch for a door, which is operated from the outside by a key. Night monkey (Zo["o]l.), an owl monkey. night moth (Zo["o]l.), any one of the noctuids. Night parrot (Zo["o]l.), the kakapo. Night piece, a painting representing some night scene, as a moonlight effect, or the like. Night rail, a loose robe, or garment, worn either as a nightgown, or over the dress at night, or in sickness. [Obs.] Night raven (Zo["o]l.), a bird of ill omen that cries in the night; esp., the bittern. Night rule. (a) A tumult, or frolic, in the night; -- as if a corruption, of night revel. [Obs.] (b) Such conduct as generally rules, or prevails, at night. What night rule now about this haunted grove? --Shak. Night sight. (Med.) See Nyctolopia. Night snap, a night thief. [Cant] --Beau. & Fl. Night soil, human excrement; -- so called because in cities it is collected by night and carried away for manure. Night spell, a charm against accidents at night. Night swallow (Zo["o]l.), the nightjar. Night walk, a walk in the evening or night. Night walker. (a) One who walks in his sleep; a somnambulist; a noctambulist. (b) One who roves about in the night for evil purposes; specifically, a prostitute who walks the streets. Night walking. (a) Walking in one's sleep; somnambulism; noctambulism. (b) Walking the streets at night with evil designs. Night warbler (Zo["o]l.), the sedge warbler (Acrocephalus phragmitis); -- called also night singer. [prov. Eng.] Night watch. (a) A period in the night, as distinguished by the change of watch. (b) A watch, or guard, to aford protection in the night. Night watcher, one who watches in the night; especially, one who watches with evil designs. Night witch. Same as Night hag, above.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(nights) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. The night is the part of each day when the sun has set and it is dark outside, especially the time when people are sleeping. He didn't sleep a wink all night... The fighting began in the late afternoon and continued all night... Our reporter spent the night crossing the border from Austria into Slovenia... Finally night fell. N-VAR 2. The night is the period of time between the end of the afternoon and the time that you go to bed, especially the time when you relax before going to bed. So whose party was it last night?... Demiris took Catherine to dinner the following night. N-COUNT 3. A particular night is a particular evening when a special event takes place, such as a show or a play. The first night crowd packed the building. ...election night. N-COUNT: supp N 4. If it is a particular time at night, it is during the time when it is dark and is before midnight. It's eleven o'clock at night in Moscow... He works obsessively from 7.15 am to 9 or 10 at night. PHRASE: num PHR 5. If something happens at night, it happens regularly during the evening or night. He was going to college at night, in order to become an accountant... The veranda was equipped with heavy wooden rain doors that were kept closed at night. PHRASE: PHR after v 6. If something happens day and night or night and day, it happens all the time without stopping. Dozens of doctors and nurses have been working day and night for weeks... He was at my door night and day, demanding my attention. PHRASE: usu PHR after v 7. If you have an early night, you go to bed early. If you have a late night, you go to bed late. I've had a hell of a day, and all I want is an early night... In spite of the travelling and the late night, she did not feel tired. PHRASE: N inflects 8. morning, noon and night: see morning

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

nit.

See DAY AND NIGHT for the natural usage and the various terms.

1. In the Old Testament:

Figurative uses: The word "night" (laylah or layil is sometimes used figuratively in the Old Testament. Thus, Moses compares the brevity of time, the lapse of a thousand years, to "a watch in the night" (Ps 90:4). Adversity is depicted by it in such places as Job 35:10; compare Isa 8:20; Jer 15:9. Disappointment and despair are apparently depicted by it in the "burden of Dumah" (Isa 21:11,12); and spiritual blindness, coming upon the false prophets (Mic 3:6); again sudden and overwhelming confusion (Am 5:8; Isa 59:10 the King James Version, nesheph, "twilight" as in the Revised Version (British and American)).

2. In the New Testament:

On the lips of Jesus (Joh 9:4) it signifies the end of opportunity to labor; repeated in that touching little allegory spoken to His disciples when He was called to the grave of Lazarus (Joh 11:9,10). Paul also uses the figure in reference to the Parousia (Ro 13:12), where "night" seems to refer to the present aeon and "day" to the aeon to come. He also uses it in 1Th 5:5,7 where the status of the redeemed is depicted by "day," that of the unregenerate by "night," again, as the context shows, in reference to the Parousia. In Re 21:25 and 22:5, the passing of the "night" indicates the realization of that to which the Parousia looked forward, the establishment of the kingdom of God forever. See also Delitzsch, Iris, 35.

Henry E. Dosker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Darkness, obscurity. 2. Ignorance. 3. Adversity. 4. Death.

Moby Thesaurus

Egyptian darkness, Erebus, all the time, all-night, blackness, ceaselessly, charcoal, coal, continually, continuously, crow, dark, dark of night, darkness, darkness visible, dead of night, dusk, ebon, ebony, endlessly, evening, evensong, eventide, gloaming, incessantly, ink, intense darkness, jet, lightlessness, midnight, moonlessness, night and day, night-fallen, nightfall, nightlong, nightly, nighttide, nighttime, nocturnal, obscure, obscure darkness, obscurity, pitch, pitch-darkness, pitchy darkness, raven, round-the-clock, sable night, sloe, smoke, smut, soot, starlessness, sundown, sunlessness, sunset, swarthiness, tar, tenebrosity, tenebrousness, the palpable obscure, total darkness, twilight, unceasingly, unendingly, velvet darkness, vespers