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dawning

[daw-ning]
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noun
  1. daybreak; dawn.
  2. beginning; start: the dawning of the space age.
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Origin of dawning

Middle English; see dawn, -ing1
Related formsun·dawn·ing, adjective

dawn

[dawn]
noun
  1. the first appearance of daylight in the morning: Dawn broke over the valley.
  2. the beginning or rise of anything; advent: the dawn of civilization.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to begin to grow light in the morning: The day dawned with a cloudless sky.
  2. to begin to open or develop.
  3. to begin to be perceived (usually followed by on): The idea dawned on him.
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Origin of dawn

before 1150; Middle English dawen (v.), Old English dagian, derivative of dæg day; akin to Old Norse daga, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German dagen, Old High German tagēn
Related formsdawn·like, adjectiveun·dawned, adjective

Synonyms

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1. daybreak, sunrise. 5. appear, occur, break.

Antonyms

1. sunset.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

daybreakmorningdaylightsunupmorncockcrowsunrise

Examples from the Web for dawning

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The first dawning of genuine love—the fervour of adoration, all were fled.

    Gomez Arias

    Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso

  • Artois was conscious of a dawning hostility in the Marchesino.

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

  • What would be the result upon her and upon her dawning gift?

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

  • The dawning intellect of her began to grasp already the nobility of work.

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

  • And first Aristophanes drops, and then, as the day is dawning, Agathon.

British Dictionary definitions for dawning

dawn

noun
  1. daybreak; sunriseRelated adjective: auroral
  2. the sky when light first appears in the morning
  3. the beginning of something
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verb (intr)
  1. to begin to grow light after the night
  2. to begin to develop, appear, or expand
  3. (usually foll by on or upon) to begin to become apparent (to)
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Derived Formsdawnlike, adjective

Word Origin

Old English dagian to dawn; see day
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dawning

dawn

n.

1590s, from dawn (v.).

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dawn

v.

c.1200, dauen, "to dawn, grow light," shortened or back-formed from dauinge, dauing "period between darkness and sunrise," (c.1200), from Old English dagung, from dagian "to become day," from root of dæg "day" (see day). Probably influenced by a Scandinavian word (cf. Danish dagning, Old Norse dagan "a dawning;" cf. also German tagen "to dawn"). Related: Dawned; dawning.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with dawning

dawn

In addition to the idiom beginning with dawn

  • dawn on

also see:

  • crack of dawn
  • light dawned
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.