dawning

[daw-ning]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dawning ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

daybreak; dawn.

beginning; start: the dawning of the space age.

Origin of dawning

Middle English; see dawn, -ing¹

Related formsun·dawn·ing, adjective

dawn

[dawn]

noun

the first appearance of daylight in the morning: Dawn broke over the valley.

the beginning or rise of anything; advent: the dawn of civilization.

verb (used without object)

to begin to grow light in the morning: The day dawned with a cloudless sky.

to begin to open or develop.

to begin to be perceived (usually followed by on): The idea dawned on him.

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 for dawn

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dawn ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Antonyms for dawn

1. sunset.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dawning

daybreak, morning, daylight, sunup, morn, cockcrow, sunrise

Examples from the Web for dawning

Contemporary Examples of dawning

I think this realization is dawning on much of the media as well.
Elijah Cummings Fights Back
Michael Tomasky
June 14, 2013
But perhaps, just perhaps, we are starting to see a dawning unease among politicians of both parties.
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich's Hypocrisy on Super PACs
Michael Waldman
December 21, 2011
Suddenly it is dawning on everyone, including members of Congress, just how much power Facebook is amassing.
Facebook Woos Washington
Dan Lyons
April 20, 2011
From the dawning of silent films, moviemakers have turned to books for grist.
The 5 Best Novels on Hollywood
Jane Ciabattari
March 6, 2010
And yet in an interview, Krikorian, too, seems oddly sanguine about the dawning of the Obama era.
Obama's Next Battle
Bryan Curtis
December 20, 2009

Historical Examples of dawning

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.
Symposium
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for dawning

dawn

noun

daybreak; sunriseRelated adjective: auroral

the sky when light first appears in the morning

the beginning of something

verb (intr)

to begin to grow light after the night

to begin to develop, appear, or expand

(usually foll by on or upon) to begin to become apparent (to)

Derived Formsdawnlike, adjective

Word Origin for dawn

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

1590s, from dawn (v.).

dawn

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.

Idioms and Phrases with dawning

dawn

In addition to the idiom beginning with dawn

dawn on

also see:

crack of dawn
light dawned