Evening

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈiːvnɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The period occurring after the end of daylight and before nighttime, often marked by the fading light and the onset of cooler temperatures
2. A time typically designated for leisure, family gatherings, and outdoor events, providing a transition between work and rest
3. The part of the day following the late afternoon when light diminishes and darkness approaches

Etymology: The word "evening" is built from the same root as "eve," which is the older and more basic term. Old English had "ǣfen" for the time just before night, and from it speakers formed "ǣfnian," meaning "to become evening," the verb for the sky growing dark. Adding the suffix "-ung" to that verb produced "ǣfnung," a noun for the process of evening coming on. Over Middle English this became "evenynge" and then "evening," so the word began as an action, the onset of dusk, before it named the period itself. The base "eve" also survives on its own and in compounds like "Christmas Eve" and "New Year's Eve," where it still means the day or time just before an event. The Old English root traces back to a Proto-Germanic word that is likely connected to the idea of the sun going down, though the exact sense of that earlier root is uncertain.

Synonyms: dusk, twilight, nightfall, eventide, sundown

Antonyms: morning, daybreak, dawn, sunrise, daytime