# twilight

Pronunciation: say "TWY-lyt" /ˈtwaɪˌlaɪt/

## Noun

1. The period just before sunrise or, especially, just after sunset, when the sky is still partly lit; technically, the time when the sun is less than 18 degrees below the horizon.
   - Simple: The time just after the sun sets, or just before it rises, when the sky is not yet fully dark.
   - _The hikers reached the summit just as twilight settled over the valley._
   - _In twilight the streetlights flicker on while the western sky still glows._
2. Soft, dim light, especially the light in the sky just before sunrise or after sunset, when the sun's rays are scattered by the atmosphere.
   - Simple: Soft, weak light, especially the light in the sky just after the sun sets or before it rises.
   - _A pale twilight lingered over the hills well after the sun had dropped._
   - _The photographer loved the gentle twilight that bathed the canyon before dawn._
3. A period of decline, especially the last stage of something; also, a dim, in-between state in which things are only half clear.
   - Simple: The last stage of something as it gets weaker, or a state between two things where nothing is fully clear.
   - _The empire entered its twilight, its power slowly slipping away._
   - _He spent his final years in a gentle twilight of half-remembered dreams._

## Adjective

4. Resembling or relating to twilight; faintly lit, dim, or obscure.
   - Simple: Looking like twilight, faintly lit or hard to see clearly.
   - _The painting captured a twilight landscape, all soft and dim._
   - _Faint twilight shadows stretched across the empty courtyard._
5. Of the ocean's middle layer, lying between the sunlit upper zone and the dark depths, where very little light reaches.
   - Simple: Describing the ocean layer where only a tiny amount of light reaches, below the sunlit top.
   - _Many bioluminescent creatures inhabit the twilight zone of the open ocean._
   - _Researchers sampled fish from the twilight layer where sunlight barely reaches._

## Verb

6. To light something faintly, casting only a weak, soft glow. *(literary)*
   - Simple: To give a faint, gentle light to something.

## Origin

From Middle English twilight, formed from twi- ('double, half-') plus light, literally meaning 'second light' or 'half-light'. It is related to Dutch tweelicht and German Zwielicht ('twilight, dusk'), and compares with Old English twēone lēoht ('twilight').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/twilight (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).