twilight

nounadjectiveverbcommon in dialogue

//ˈtwaɪˌlaɪt//

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.

noun

1
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.
Near-synonym: half-light
I could just make out her face in the twilight.
2
The time when said light is visible; the period between daylight and darkness.
It was twilight by the time I got back home.
At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
3
Any faint light through which something is seen.
Two women, Eusabio’s wife and sister, looked on from the deep twilight of the hut.
4
The time when the sun is less than 18° below the horizon.
5
figurativeAn in-between or fading condition through which something is perceived.
The twilight of one's life
, Book IV, Chapter XIV The twilight […] of probability.
“They have not enough heart,” said Edith, with a smile. The very twilight of a smile: so singularly were its light and darkness blended.

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English twilight, twyelyghte, equivalent to twi- (“double, half-”) + light, literally ‘second light, half-light’. Cognate to Scots twa licht, twylicht, twielicht (“twilight”), Low German twilecht, twelecht (“twilight”), Dutch tweelicht (“twilight, dusk”), German Zwielicht (“twilight, dusk”). Compare Old English twēone lēoht (“twilight”).

adjective

1
Pertaining to or resembling twilight; faintly illuminated; obscure.
[object Object]
2
Synonym of mesopelagic (“Describing the pelagic zone of the ocean between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones, characterized by very minimal light.”)
twilight zone

verb

1
To illuminate faintly.

Forms

plural: twilights
past tense: twilit, twilighted
past participle: twilit, twilighted
present participle: twilighting
third person singular: twilights

twenty-two · The number after twenty-one and before twenty-three.…twice · Two times.twig · A small thin branch of a tree or bush.

twilight · 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…

twin · Either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared…Twin · A player who plays for the Minnesota Twins.twinkle · To shine with a flickering light; to glimmer.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.