Nighttide

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. the nighttime hours characterized by the influence of tides on coastal waters and the rhythmic changes brought by lunar cycles
2. The tidal movement of water that happens during the hours of darkness
3. The rise and fall of sea levels influenced by the moon that takes place overnight

Etymology: "Nighttide" is a plain compound: "night" joined to "tide," which here means a period of time or season rather than the rise and fall of the sea. The older sense of "tide" as "time" survives in words like "Yuletide" and "Eastertide," where it marks a festival season, and "nighttide" uses the same sense to mean the time of night. The word is therefore a poetic-leaning variant of "nighttime," built on an older English noun for a span of time.

Synonyms: nighttime, evening, nightfall

Antonyms: daytime