The noun is derived from Middle English moonelight, monelight, mone lyght (“light of the moon; (heraldry) pattern of moons on the field of a heraldic banner”), from mon, mone (“moon”) (from Old English mōna (“moon”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon; month”)) + light (“light”) (from Old English lēoht (“light”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)). By surface analysis, moon + light. The verb is derived from the noun. Verb sense 1.1 (“to secretly leave premises without paying the rent”) is a back-formation from moonlight flit, while verb sense 1.2 (“to make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer”) is probably a back-formation from moonlighter. cognates * Dutch maanlicht * German Mondlicht * Scots muinlicht, munelicht * West Frisian moanneljocht
Also, Usually The light reflected from the Moon, which seems to emanate from it.
Meronym: moonbeam
Than Ripheus him ſelf adioynd, & myghty moſt with launce / Came Iphitus onto my ſide, by monelight met by chaunce.1555 July (date written; Gregorian calendar), Virgil, “The Seconde Booke”, in Thomas Phaer, transl., The Seuen First Bookes of the Eneidos of Virgill, Conuerted in Englishe Meter […], London: […] Ihon Kyngston, for Richard Jugge, […], published 7 June 1558 (Gregorian calendar), →OCLC, signature [D.iv.], verso:
4 more examples
If you vvill patiently daunce in our Round, / And ſee our Moonelight Reuelles, goe vvith vs: / If not, ſhunne me, and I vvill ſpare your haunts.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], signature C, recto:
Hovv ſvveete the Moone-light ſleeps vpon this banke, / Heere vvill vve ſit, and let the ſounds of muſicke / Creepe in our eares ſoft ſtillneſſe, and the night / Become the tutches of ſvveete harmony: […]c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], signature [I4], recto:
The night comes on, vve, eager to purſue / The Combat ſtil, and they aſham'd to leave: / Till the laſt ſtreaks of dying day vvithdrevv, / And doubtful Moon-light did our rage deceive.1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, stanza 68, page 18:
This choleric gentleman, vvho vvas a country ſquire, no ſooner ſavv his rival, than he began to brandiſh his cudgel in a menacing poſture, […] This attitude, and the ſight of the blade vvhich glittened by moonlight in his face, checked in ſome ſort, the ardour of his aſſailant, […]1751, [Tobias] Smollett, “He Atchieves an Adventure at the Assembly, and Quarrels with His Governor”, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume I, London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC, page 204:
2
Archaic, Usually The silvery colour of the light reflected by the Moon.
3
UK, Archaic, Dialectal, Usually Synonym of moonshine (“illegally produced or smuggled spirits”).
Barter'd for game from chace or warren won, / Yon cask holds moonlight, run when moon was none; / And late-snatch'd spoils lie stow'd in hutch apart, / To wait the associate higgler's evening cart.1809, [Walter Scott], “Fragments, which Originally Appeared in the Edinburgh Annual Register for 1809. The Poacher.”, in The Bridal of Triermain, or The Vale of St John. In Three Cantos, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for John Ballantyne and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; and Gale, Curtis, and Fenner; […], published 1813, →OCLC, pages 225–226:
A fast-sailing lugger will soon bring you there though, snug stowed under hatches, like a cask of moonlight.1824 June, [Walter Scott], “Narrative of Darsie Latimer, Continued”, in Redgauntlet, […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 163:
4
Informal, Usually Chiefly in to do a moonlight: short for moonlight flit (“an act of secretly leaving premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon; hence, any act of escaping at night”).
5
Art, ArtsObsolete, Usually A picture of a scene illuminated by light reflected by the Moon.
6
US, Obsolete, Rare, Usually A journey made at night when the Moon is shining.
7
US, Obsolete, Usually An oratorical competition; also, a participant in such a competition.
The noun is derived from Middle English moonelight, monelight, mone lyght (“light of the moon; (heraldry) pattern of moons on the field of a heraldic banner”), from mon, mone (“moon”) (from Old English mōna (“moon”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon; month”)) + light (“light”) (from Old English lēoht (“light”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)). By surface analysis, moon + light. The verb is derived from the noun. Verb sense 1.1 (“to secretly leave premises without paying the rent”) is a back-formation from moonlight flit, while verb sense 1.2 (“to make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer”) is probably a back-formation from moonlighter. cognates * Dutch maanlicht * German Mondlicht * Scots muinlicht, munelicht * West Frisian moanneljocht
1
Informal To do a moonlight flit: to secretly leave premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon.
2
Ireland, Historical To make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League.
3
Informal To do work for pay (sometimes illegally, secretly, or without paying income tax on the earnings) which is in addition to a main job, often in the evening or at night.
There are three individual rear seats. They all slide, they all fold, or they can all be removed completely, so that you can moonlight as a van.2004 July, Richard Porter, Paul Kerensa, “MPVs as Minicabs” (00:22:29 from the start), in Top Gear, season 4, episode 7, spoken by James May, London, via BBC Two, →OCLC:
Investigators discover that Captain Ospina was forced to take a second job, moonlighting in a bar, in order to make ends meet for his family.2011 August 19, Carl Knutson, “The Plane that Flew too High” (41:00 from the start), in Mayday: Air Disaster, season 11, episode 2, spoken by Jonathan Aris, Montreal, Que.: Cineflix Media, →OCLC:
1 more example
Believing the bones to belong to a cave bear, the quarry owner passed them on to a local schoolteacher, Johann Carl Fuhlrott, who moonlighted as a fossilist.2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, “The Madness Gene”, in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 240:
4
Informal To engage in an activity other than what one is known for.
Mr. [Jeffrey] Katzenberg, who moonlights as a top [Joe] Biden official and has worked with Mr. [George] Clooney on philanthropy for decades, reached out to him to see if there was an off-ramp, according to three people familiar with the matter.2024 July 11, Theodore Schleifer, Jacob Bernstein, Reid J. Epstein, “How Biden lost George Clooney and Hollywood”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2025:
5
Informal Of a thing: to perform a secondary function substantially different from a supposed primary function.
Some proteins have a primary function of acting as enzymes, but moonlight by carrying out secondary roles such as signal transduction or transcriptional regulation.
6
Ireland, Historical Of a tenant farmer: to be attacked for not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League.