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Twilight Common

Origin: Germanic Old English suffix

Twilight has 7 different meanings across 2 categories:

Noun · Adjective

Definitions
Noun
1

the time of day immediately following sunset

"he loved the twilight"

"they finished before the fall of night"

2

the diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon but its rays are refracted by the atmosphere of the earth

"The soft blue glow of twilight filled the valley after the sun had dipped below the horizon."

3

a condition of decline following successes

"in the twilight of the empire"

4

The soft light in the sky seen before the rising and (especially) after the setting of the sun, occasioned by the illumination of the earth’s atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their reflection on the earth.

"The golden twilight bathed the quiet hills in a warm, ethereal glow as the last rays of the sun vanished below the horizon."

In plain English: Twilight is that period of time when it gets dark after sunset but before nightfall completely arrives.

"We took our evening walk just after twilight when the sky turned deep purple."

Usage: Use "twilight" as a noun to describe the soft light in the sky just before sunrise or immediately after sunset. As an adjective, it characterizes anything that is dimly lit or lacks clear definition.

Verb
1

To illuminate faintly.

"The streetlamps began to twinkle, and their soft glow seemed to twilight the distant park."

Adjective
1

lighted by or as if by twilight

"The dusky night rides down the sky/And ushers in the morn"

"the twilight glow of the sky"

"a boat on a twilit river"

2

Pertaining to or resembling twilight; faintly illuminated; obscure.

"The silhouette of the distant mountains was a twilight shape against the fading sky, barely visible in the dim light."

In plain English: Twilight describes something that is dim, fading away, or about to disappear into darkness.

"The twilight hours offered the perfect atmosphere for our evening picnic."

Example Sentences
"The twilight hours offered the perfect atmosphere for our evening picnic." adj
"We took our evening walk just after twilight when the sky turned deep purple." noun
"We walked home during twilight to avoid the heat of the day." noun
"The streetlamps flickered on as twilight fell over the city." noun
"I prefer reading in the soft light of twilight rather than bright noon sun." noun
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)

Origin

The word twilight comes from Middle English, where it combined the prefix "twi-" meaning double or half with "light" to literally mean second light. This term entered modern usage to describe the soft illumination present during dawn and dusk.

Rhyming Words
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