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twilight - 5 dictionary results
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twi⋅light

  [twahy-lahyt]
Use twilight in a Sentence
–noun
1. the soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, either from daybreak to sunrise or, more commonly, from sunset to nightfall.
2. the period in the morning or, more commonly, in the evening during which this light prevails.
3. a terminal period, esp. after full development, success, etc.: the twilight of his life.
4. a state of uncertainty, vagueness, or gloom.
–adjective
5. of, pertaining to, or resembling twilight; dim; obscure: in the twilight hours.
6. appearing or flying at twilight; crepuscular.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME; see twi-, light 1

Related forms:
twilighty, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To twilight
twi·light   (twī'līt')   
n.  
    1. The diffused light from the sky during the early evening or early morning when the sun is below the horizon and its light is refracted by the earth's atmosphere.
    2. The time of the day when the sun is just below the horizon, especially the period between sunset and dark.
  2. Dim or diffused illumination.
  3. A period or condition of decline following growth, glory, or success: in the twilight of his life.
  4. A state of ambiguity or obscurity.

[Middle English twilighte : Old English twi-, two, half; see dwo- in Indo-European roots + Old English līht, light; see light1.]
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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Twilight

Twi"light`\, n. [OE. twilight, AS. twi- (see Twice) + le['o]ht light; hence the sense of doubtful or half light; cf. LG. twelecht, G. zwielicht. See Light.]

1. The light perceived before the rising, and after the setting, of the sun, or when the sun is less than 18[deg] below the horizon, occasioned by the illumination of the earth's atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their reflection on the earth.

2. faint light; a dubious or uncertain medium through which anything is viewed.

As when the sun . . . from behind the moon, In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds. --Milton.

The twilight of probability. --Locke.

Twilight

Twi"light`\, a. 1. Seen or done by twilight. --Milton.

2. Imperfectly illuminated; shaded; obscure.

O'er the twilight groves and dusky caves. --Pope.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : twilight
Spanish: crepúsculo; luz del alba,
German: die Dämmerung,
Japanese: 薄明
More Translations »

twilight 
1387 (implied in twilighting), a compound of twi- + light (n.) Cognate with Du. tweelicht (16c.), Ger. zwielicht. Exact connotation of twi- in this word is unclear, but it appears to refer to "half" light, rather than the fact that twilight occurs twice a day. Cf. also Skt. samdhya "twilight," lit. "a holding together, junction," M.H.G. zwischerliecht, lit. "tweenlight." Originally and most commonly in Eng. with ref. to evening twilight but occasionally used of morning twilight (a sense first attested c.1440). Figurative extension is first recorded 1600.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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