dawn
dawn Lexical Profile
dawn Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise; daybreak.
"The fishermen set out in their boats just before dawn to catch the morning tide."
The beginning, emergence, or earliest stage of a phenomenon, era, or period of time.
"The invention of the printing press marked the dawn of mass communication in Europe."
• verb
To become evident or understood by someone (usually followed by 'on' or 'upon').
"It suddenly dawned on her that she had left the keys inside the office."
To begin to grow light in the morning; to start to appear (of a day).
"Saturday dawned bright and clear after a week of heavy rain."
To come into existence or begin to develop.
"A new era of space exploration was dawning in the mid-twentieth century."
• Rhymes for dawn
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Middle English dawen ('to become day'), derived from Old English dagian, from dæg ('day'), with the final -n adopted from the verbal noun dawning (under Old Norse influence).