Overnight

Part of speech: adverb, adjective

Pronunciation: /əʊvə(ɹ)ˈnaɪt/

Definitions

1. The time frame encompassing the hours from sunset to sunrise, which may also refer to abrupt changes or events happening within that span
2. A nighttime duration that can signify both the period from dusk until dawn and the idea of swift transitions or significant occurrences
3. A duration marked by the hours of night that can also refer to rapid changes or developments occurring during that time

Etymology: The adverb began as a plain description of time. Old English "ofer niht" meant "through the night," so something that happened overnight was something that lasted across the whole dark stretch from evening to morning. Middle English shortened this to "overnyght," and the compound "over" plus "night" kept that literal sense of passing through the hours of darkness. The verb is a much later development. It emerged in the late 19th century, when people began to "overnight" a traveller, meaning to spend a night somewhere. Its exact source is uncertain. It may have been shaped by the German "übernachten," which had been in use since the 16th century, or it may have arisen independently in English. The same verb appears in related languages such as Dutch and West Frisian, which suggests a common Germanic pattern of turning the idea of a night's stay into an action.

Synonyms: sudden, immediate, instant

Antonyms: gradual