Moonlight

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmunˌlaɪt/

Definitions

1. The natural light given off by the moon during the night ; to engage in paid work at night, often while holding a day job
2. The pale illumination provided by the moon after sunset ; to perform a secondary job in secret during nighttime hours
3. A soft glow cast by the moon across the earth's surface at night ; to take on additional employment during nights without public knowledge

Etymology: The noun began life as a compound of two plain Old English words. "Mōna" meant the moon, and "lēoht" meant light, and in Middle English the pair appeared as "moonelight" and "monelight" with the sense of light from the moon. Its ancestors reach back to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "moon; month" and "bright; to shine," so the word is about as transparent as English compounds get. German "Mondlicht" and Dutch "maanlicht" are close relatives built the same way. The verb is the more surprising half of the story. It is a later development from the noun, and its second sense, to take a second paid job at night while holding a day job, grew out of the verb "moonlight" as a back-formation from "moonlighter." The verb also appears in a much darker sense: to secretly leave premises without paying rent, which is a back-formation from "moonlight flit," a phrase for a stealthy midnight departure. The night-time connection in both cases is the same, the moon's light serving as cover for something done out of sight.

Synonyms: moonbeam, lunar light, nightlight