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noon

 - 3 dictionary results

noon

  [noon]
Use noon in a Sentence
–noun
1. midday.
2. twelve o'clock in the daytime.
3. the highest, brightest, or finest point or part: the noon of one's career.
4. Archaic. midnight: the noon of night.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME none, OE nōn < L nōna ninth hour. See none 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To noon
noon   (nōōn)   
n.  

    1. Twelve o'clock in the daytime; midday.

    2. The time or point in the sun's path at which the sun is on the local meridian. Also called noontide, noontime.

  2. The highest point; the zenith.

  3. Archaic Midnight.


[Middle English non, from Old English nōn, canonical hour of nones (3 P.M. in early Middle Ages), from Late Latin nōna (hōra), ninth (hour after sunrise), nones, feminine sing. of Latin nōnus, ninth; see new in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

noon 
1140, non "midday, 12 o'clock p.m., midday meal," from O.E. non "3 o'clock p.m.," also "the canonical hour of nones," from L. nona hora "ninth hour" of daylight, by Roman reckoning about 3 p.m., from nona, fem. sing. of nonus "ninth" (see nones). Meaning shift from "3 p.m." to "12 p.m." began during 12c., when time of Church prayers shifted from ninth hour to sixth hour, or perhaps because the customary time of the midday meal shifted, or both. The shift was complete by 14c. (cf. same evolution in Du. noen). Noonday was first used by Coverdale (1535).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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