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dawn

 
Dictionary: dawn   (dôn) pronunciation
n.
  1. The time each morning at which daylight first begins.
  2. A first appearance; a beginning: the dawn of history. See synonyms at beginning.
intr.v., dawned, dawn·ing, dawns.
  1. To begin to become light in the morning.
  2. To begin to appear or develop; emerge.
  3. To begin to be perceived or understood: Realization of the danger soon dawned on us.

[From Middle English daunen, to dawn, probably a back-formation from dauning, daybreak, alteration of dauing, from Old English dagung, from dagian, to dawn.]


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Thesaurus: dawn
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also dawn on

noun

  1. The first appearance of daylight in the morning: aurora, cockcrow, dawning, daybreak, morn, morning, sunrise, sunup. See start/end.
  2. The initial stage of a developmental process: beginning, birth, commencement, genesis, inception, nascence, nascency, onset, opening, origin, outset, spring, start. See start/end.

verb

    To begin to appear or develop: appear, arise, commence, emerge, originate. See start/end.

phrasal verb - dawn on (or upon)

    To come as a realization: register, sink in, soak in. See knowledge/ignorance.

Idioms: dawn
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Idioms beginning with dawn:
dawn on

In addition to the idiom beginning with dawn, also see crack of dawn; light dawned.


Antonyms: dawn
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n

Definition: a beginning
Antonyms: conclusion, end, ending, finish

n

Definition: beginning of day
Antonyms: dusk, end, evening, eventide, setting, sundown, sunset

v

Definition: start
Antonyms: end, finish, set


A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce


n.

The time when men of reason go to bed. Certain old men prefer to rise at about that time, taking a cold bath and a long walk with an empty stomach, and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the others who have tried it.


Word Tutor: dawn
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The return of the light in the morning. Also: Starting to understand.

pronunciation They got up at the crack of dawn to see the sunrise.

Dream Symbol: Dawn
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As a symbol, the dawn can have most of the meanings generally associated with light (e.g., enlightenment, vitality). More particularly, the dawn is the emergence of a new stage of life, a new understanding, or a new start, and the emergence from darkness.


Wikipedia: Dawn
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Early morning in Xepon, Laos (July 2004)

Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is still below the horizon. Dawn should not be confused with sunrise, which is the moment when the leading edge of the sun itself appears above the horizon.

The duration of the twilight period between dawn and sunrise varies greatly depending on the observer's latitude, from a few minutes in equatorial regions to many hours in polar regions.

Types

There are also more technical definitions of dawn, including the following:

Astronomical dawn 
the moment after which the sky is no longer completely dark; formally defined as the time at which the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon in the morning. [1]
Nautical dawn
the time at which there is enough sunlight for the horizon and some objects to be distinguishable; formally, when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon in the morning. [1]
Civil dawn 
that time at which there is enough light for objects to be distinguishable, so that outdoor activities can commence; formally, when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon in the morning. [1]

Mythology

Many Indo-European mythologies have a goddess of dawn, separate from the male Sun god, her name deriving from PIE *h2ausos-, derivations of which include Greek Eos, Roman Aurora, Indian Ushas, Slavic Zornitsa and possibly a Germanic *Austrōn- (whence Easter).

Folklore

In folklore, belief that dawn banishes evil spirits, zombies, ghosts, vampires, trolls, fairies and demons is common, for various reasons, throughout Eastern and Western cultures.[citation needed]

References

External links


Translations: Dawn
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - daggry, morgen
v. intr. - dages, lysne, gry

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    fuglesang ved daggry
  • dawn on    gå op for

Nederlands (Dutch)
dageraad, ochtendgloren, het aanbreken (begin), dagen, dag worden, aanbreken

Français (French)
n. - aube, point du jour, aurore, aube (d'une civilisation), naissance (d'une idée)
v. intr. - se lever, poindre, (fig) naître, se faire jour, luire (un espoir)

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    concert matinal des oiseaux
  • dawn on    s'avérer, venir à l'esprit, commencer à entrevoir (qch)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Morgendämmerung, Tagesanbruch, Beginn
v. - anbrechen, dämmern, Tag werden

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    morgendlicher Vogelgesang
  • dawn on    (ugs.) jmdm. dämmern

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (χαρ)αυγή, χάραμα, γένεση, αφετηρία
v. - (γλυκο)χαράζω, φωτίζω, ανατέλλω, αποκαλύπτομαι

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    πρωινά κελαηδήματα
  • dawn on    γίνομαι αντιληπτός σε

Italiano (Italian)
spuntare, albeggiare, alba

idioms:

  • a false dawn    una falsa speranza
  • dawn chorus    cinguettio mattutino
  • dawn on    rendersi conto di

Português (Portuguese)
n. - aurora (f)
v. - amanhecer

idioms:

  • a false dawn    falso amanhecer
  • at the crack of dawn    ao romper do dia
  • dawn chorus    alvorada (f)
  • dawn on    começar a entender

Русский (Russian)
рассветать, осенить, рассвет, заря

idioms:

  • a false dawn    не оправдавший надежд
  • at the crack of dawn    с первым лучом солнца
  • dawn chorus    пение птиц на рассвете
  • dawn on    осенить

Español (Spanish)
n. - alba, aurora, amanecer
v. intr. - alborear, romper el día, aclarar, amanecer, comenzar, empezar a percibir

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    canto de los pájaros al amanecer
  • dawn on    caer en la cuenta, comprender que

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - gryning
v. - dagas, gry

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
黎明, 拂晓, 曙光, 端倪, 开端, 破晓, 刚亮, 开始明白, 开始出现, 渐露端倪, 顿悟

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    晨噪, 破晓鸟鸣声
  • dawn on    渐渐被理解

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 黎明, 拂曉, 曙光, 端倪, 開端
v. intr. - 破曉, 剛亮, 開始明白, 開始出現, 漸露端倪, 頓悟

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    晨噪, 破曉鳥鳴聲
  • dawn on    漸漸被理解

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 새벽, (행동의) 시작
v. intr. - 날이 밝다, (사물이) 드러나기 시작하다, (일이) 이해되기 시작하다

idioms:

  • dawn on    보이기 시작하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 夜が明ける, 現われ出す, わかってくる
n. - 夜明け, 始まり, 女子名, 突然わかること

idioms:

  • dawn chorus    早朝のラジオ電波障害, 暁の合唱
  • dawn on    …にわかり始める

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الفجر, بزوغ النهار (فعل) يبزغ النهار, يبدأ فيالظهور او التشكل, يبدأ بالاتضاح للعين والعقل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שחר, זריחה, הופעה‬
v. intr. - ‮זרח, עלה (עמוד השחר), מתחיל להיות מובן‬


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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