![]() ![]() It’s been with us in its current spelling since roughly the 1600s, but its meaning in English stretches back to Anglo-Saxon (Old English), where it was spelled “ǣfnung” and is recorded from the late 900s.Īnd, in fact, according to Wiktionary it’s not even a borrowing in Anglo-Saxon, but rather can be traced in a direct line to, Proto-Germanic, the early ancestor of English which was used as far back as 500 BCE. The etymology of “evening”Įvening has a very long history in the English language. Generally speaking, though, “evening” can be understood to refer to the time of day when it’s starting to get dark but there’s still a little light left to see by. In some regions and dialects, you may also hear people use “evening” to refer to any time of day after 12p.m. ![]() People may also use “evening” in a generalized way to refer to a vague time period after afternoon, which unfortunately also doesn’t have a specific definition, but before night. Sometimes, “evening” can be used to refer to any time after work hours are over. This is not the only way the word can be used, however. Because the sun sets at different times of day in different places and at different times of the year, it means there’s no exact time period that can be assigned to “evening.” That said, in many cases people use “evening” to mean after around 6p.m. Typically, however, “evening” refers to the period between dusk or twilight and the onset of night, when the sky is fully dark. There is no exact definition of “evening” that ties it to a specific time of day. Let’s take a look at the complicated nuance, and long history, of this seemingly simple word. No, that’s not the start of a terrible dad joke. If it’s later than afternoon, but not night yet, what time is it? ![]()
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