midnight

English Online Dictionary. What means midnight‎? What does midnight mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English midnight, from Old English midniht, from Proto-Germanic *midjanahts (“midnight”), equivalent to mid- +‎ night. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Midnoacht (“midnight”), Old High German mittinaht (“midnight”), Danish midnat (“midnight”), Swedish midnatt (“midnight”), Icelandic miðnætti (“midnight”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Middernoacht (“midnight”), Dutch middernacht (“midnight”), German Mitternacht (“midnight”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪd(ˌ)naɪt/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [ˈmɪd̚naɪt]
  • (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): [ˈmɪd̚(ˌ)nɑjt], [ˈmɪ̞d̚nʌjt]
  • (General American) IPA^(key): [ˈmɪd̚ˌnɐɪt]
  • (Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈmɪ̞d̚nəjt]
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): [ˈmɪ̝d̚(ˌ)nɑɪt]
• Rhymes: -ɪdnʌɪt, -ɪdnaɪt
• Hyphenation: mid‧night

Noun

midnight (countable and uncountable, plural midnights)

1. The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:midnight

   Antonyms: noon, midday
2. Twelve o'clock at night exactly.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:midnight
3. (dice games) Synonym of boxcars (“a pair of sixes”).

Usage notes

• (twelve o'clock): When attached to a specific date, such as "midnight on 12 July", it may be ambiguous as to whether the time refers to 00:00 (start of day) or 24:00 (end of day); this must be resolved with context.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

midnight (not comparable)

1. (poetic) Utterly dark or black.

See also