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civil day

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civil day

 
Use civil day in a Sentence
–noun Astronomy.
day (def. 3c).
Origin:
1595–1605

day

  [dey]
–noun
1. the interval of light between two successive nights; the time between sunrise and sunset: Since there was no artificial illumination, all activities had to be carried on during the day.
2. the light of day; daylight: The owl sleeps by day and feeds by night.
3. Astronomy.
a. Also called mean solar day. a division of time equal to 24 hours and representing the average length of the period during which the earth makes one rotation on its axis.
b. Also called solar day. a division of time equal to the time elapsed between two consecutive returns of the same terrestrial meridian to the sun.
c. Also called civil day. a division of time equal to 24 hours but reckoned from one midnight to the next. Compare lunar day, sidereal day.
4. an analogous division of time for a planet other than the earth: the Martian day.
5. the portion of a day allotted to work: an eight-hour day.
6. a day on which something occurs: the day we met.
7. (often initial capital letter) a day assigned to a particular purpose or observance: New Year's Day.
8. a time considered as propitious or opportune: His day will come.
9. a day of contest or the contest itself: to win the day.
10. Often, days. a particular time or period: the present day; in days of old.
11. Usually, days. period of life or activity: His days are numbered.
12. period of existence, power, or influence: in the day of the dinosaurs.
13. light 1 (def. 19a).
—Idioms
14. call it a day, to stop one's activity for the day or for the present; quit temporarily: After rewriting the paper, she decided to call it a day.
15. day in, day out, every day without fail; regularly: They endured the noise and dirt of the city day in, day out. Also, day in and day out.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME; OE dæg; c. G Tag
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

day 
O.E. dæg, from P.Gmc. *dagaz, from PIE *dhegh-. Not considered to be related to L. dies (see diurnal), but rather to Skt. dah "to burn," Lith. dagas "hot season," O.Prus. dagis "summer." Meaning originally, in Eng., "the daylight hours," expanded to mean "the 24-hour period" in late O.E. Daydream is 1685 (n.), 1820 (v.). Day off first recorded 1883; day-tripper first recorded 1897; daylight in slang sense of "clear open space between two things" is from 1820. Day-Glo is 1951, proprietary name (Dane & Co. of London) for a brand of fluorescent paint. The days in nowadays, etc. is a relic of the O.E. and M.E. use of the adverbial genitive.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
day   (dā)  Pronunciation Key 
See under sidereal time, solar day.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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