Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Night
Night
(nīt)
, Noun.
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.
☞ 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,
– Ay,
night by night
, in studying good for England. Shakespeare
Night bird
. (Zool.)
(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
, (Zool.)
, 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
(Zool.)
, 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
(Zool.)
, an American bird (
Also sometimes applied to the European goatsuckers. It is called also 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. bull bat
. – Night heron
(Zool.)
, any one of several species of herons of the genus
Called also Nycticorax
, found in various parts of the world. The best known species is Nycticorax griseus
, or Nycticorax nycticorax
, of Europe, and the American variety (var. naevius
). The yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea
syn. Nycticorax violaceus
) inhabits the Southern States. 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
(Zool.)
, an owl monkey.
– night moth
(Zool.)
, any one of the noctuids.
– Night parrot
(Zool.)
, 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
(Zool.)
, 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? Shakespeare
–
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
(Zool.)
, 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; sleep walking; somnambulism; noctambulism.
(b)
Walking the streets at night with evil designs.
– Night warbler
(Zool.)
, 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. Webster 1828 Edition
Night
NIGHT
,Noun.
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.
Definition 2024
Night
Night
English
Proper noun
Night
- (paganism) The goddess of the night in Heathenry.
- (pagan goddess) "In this prayer, Sigdrifa calls upon powers of Nature - Day, Night, Earth - and the gods and goddesses as a group." Our Troth, Ring of Troth and other True Folk, Ring of Troth, ISBN 0-962357-8-1, 1993, page 383.
- (pagan goddess) "Hail to Night and her daughters. Teutonic Religion, Kveldulf Gundarsson, Llewellyn Publications, 1993, ISBN 0-87542-260-8, page 316.
- (pagan goddess) "In another story, the Allfather, the original sky god from early Wyrd culture, took Night and her son Day, and gave to each of them a horse and chariot and put them in the sky, so that they should ride around the world every twenty-four hours. The Wisdom of the Wyrd, Brian Bates, Rider, 1996, ISBN 0-7126-7277-X, page 48.
Anagrams
night
night
English
Alternative forms
- nite (informal)
Noun
night (countable and uncountable, plural nights)
- (countable) The period between sunset and sunrise, when a location faces far away from the sun, thus when the sky is dark.
- How do you sleep at night when you attack your kids like that!?
- 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, The Bat, chapterI:
- The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.
- 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
- Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
- (countable) An evening or night spent at a particular activity.
- a night on the town
- 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
- From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.
- (countable) A night (and part of the days before and after it) spent in a hotel or other accommodation.
- We stayed at the Hilton for five nights.
- (uncountable) Nightfall.
- from noon till night
- (uncountable) Darkness.
- The cat disappeared into the night.
- (uncountable) A dark blue colour, midnight blue.
-
night colour:
-
- (sports, colloquial) A night's worth of competitions, generally one game.
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see Citations:night.
Synonyms
- (evening or night spent at a particular activity): evening
- (quality of sleep): sleep
- (nightfall): dark, dusk, nightfall, sundown, sunset, twilight
- (darkness): blackness, darkness, gloom, obscurity, shadow
Antonyms
- (period between sunset and sunrise): day
- (darkness): brightness, daylight, light
See also
- (times of day) time of day; dawn, morning, noon/midday, afternoon, evening, dusk, night, midnight (Category: en:Times of day)
Hypernyms
- 24-hour day
Hyponyms
Hyponyms of night
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Derived terms
Terms derived from night
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Related terms
Related terms
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Translations
period between sunset and sunrise
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evening or night spent at a particular activity
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night spent at a hotel
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quality of sleep obtained during a night
nightfall
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darkness
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Interjection
night!
- Short for good night
- Night all! Thanks for a great evening!
Translations
Short for good night
Verb
night (third-person singular simple present nights, present participle nighting, simple past and past participle nighted)
- To spend a night (in a place), to overnight.
- 2008, Richard F. Burton, Arabian Nights, in 16 volumes, p.284:
- "So I took seat and ate somewhat of my vivers, my horse also feeding upon his fodder, and we nighted in that spot and next morning I set out […]."
- 2008, Richard F. Burton, Arabian Nights, in 16 volumes, p.284: