evening
nounUK /ˈiːv.nɪŋ/ · US /ˈiv.nɪŋ/
Etymology From Middle English evening, evenyng, from Old English ǣfnung, from ǣfnian (“to become evening”), from ǣfen (“eve”) (from Proto-West Germanic *ābanþ, from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs), corresponding to even + -ing.
1
The time of day between afternoon and night.
- Toward evening, there was heavy rain.
- I met my wife on a summer's evening in 1999.
1 more example
- Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.2013 July–August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
2
The time of the day between the approximate time of midwinter dusk and midnight (compare afternoon); the period after the end of regular office working hours.
- At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.[…] In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
- That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
3
Figuratively A concluding time period; a point in time near the end of something; the beginning of the end of something.
- It was the evening of the Roman Empire.
- The latter [locomotive] had worked on the Hampton Court branch for many years, and was spending the evening of its life in the West Country.1950 January, “Notes and News: The North Cornwall Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 62:
4
A party or gathering held in the evening.
- A few Gorllewin Cymru/West Wales Branch members attended an evening at the Dragon Hotel, Swansea, titled Photographic Techniques in Industry.1980, Management Services, page 50:
- Synonyms
- een, eve, even, evening, eventide, eveningtide, eveningtime, evetime, forenight, undern, vesper, vespertide
- Antonyms
- morning
- Derived terms
39 terms
bigfruit evening primrose, evening bat, evening cicada, evening class, evening dress, evening-dressed, eveninger, eveningful, evening glove, evening gown, evening-gowned, evening grosbeak, evening gun, eveningless, eveninglike, eveningness, evening newspaper, evening out, evening prayer, evening primrose, evening primrose oil, evening school, evening-snow, evening star, evening tea, eveningtide, evening trumpet flower, evening walk, eveningwear, evening wrap, family home evening, good evening, lady of the evening, midevening, Missouri evening primrose, open evening, parents' evening, this evening, yesterevening- Related terms
- eve, even, early morning, dawn, first light, postdawn, midday, afternoon, night, midnight, evenlight, evensong, good evening, vespers
- Holonyms
- day
- Meronyms
- dimpsey, dusk, midevening, smokefall