Midafternoon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The interval that lies between early and late afternoon, marking a period when the day's light is still ample before evening falls
2. A segment of the day characterized by a shift in light and activity levels, positioned after midday
3. The time during the day following midday, typically considered the middle part of the afternoon before evening begins

Etymology: "Midafternoon" is a plain compound: "mid-" meaning "middle of" joined to "afternoon." The word appears in Middle English as "mid-afternon" and "myd-afternon," which shows that English speakers were already marking the middle of the afternoon as a distinct stretch of time several centuries ago. The "mid-" prefix itself is an old English element with the sense of "middle," so the word simply names the middle portion of the afternoon. Since "afternoon" was itself built from "after" and "noon," the word stacks three layers of time-marking together: it refers to the middle of the period that follows midday. Its meaning is therefore relative and precise at once, pinning a moment roughly between the day's noon and its close.