Noche

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Characterizing a night, often associated with darkness and mystery
2. representing a period from sunset to sunrise marked by the absence of daylight
3. reflecting cultural or festive nocturnal events typically celebrated after sunset

Etymology: Spanish "noche" comes from Latin "nox" (genitive "noctis"), which also gave English "nocturnal" and "equinox," the latter meaning "equal night." The Latin word descends from a Proto-Indo-European root for night, and it reached Spanish by the ordinary inherited route, so the Spanish form developed steadily from spoken Latin rather than being borrowed later from a learned source. The most striking feature of "noche" is its vowel and consonant shift. Latin "noctem," the accusative form, was the source of the Spanish word, and the "ct" cluster softened to "ch" over the centuries. Sound changes like this one are why Spanish words often look quite different from their Latin ancestors while still being recognizably related to them.

Synonyms: night, evening, darkness

Antonyms: day, morning