Yesternyght

Part of speech: noun, adverb

Definitions

1. During the night that has just passed, a word used in older English for the evening or darkness before today
2. The night immediately before the present day, an archaic term found in older English writing and poetry
3. Referring to the previous night, a form of the word common in Middle English and early modern texts

Etymology: Yesternyght is an archaic English word meaning "last night." It is formed from "yester," meaning "of yesterday" or "the previous," which comes from Old English "gēstrandæg" (roughly "yesterday," where "gēstran" meant "yesterday" and "dæg" meant "day"), with "night" added on. The result is a compound that is almost a doubled sense: "yester" already carries the idea of "previous," so "yesternight" literally means "previous night." The word is attested in Middle English and was used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when it appeared in poetry and religious writing. Its formation was common for the period: English had a set of "yester-" compounds such as "yesteryear" and "yesterday," which share the same root. "Yesternight" has largely dropped out of ordinary use and now appears mainly in historical or deliberately archaic writing.