dawning
[daw-ning]
- daybreak; dawn.
- beginning; start: the dawning of the space age.
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Origin of dawning
dawn
[dawn]
- the first appearance of daylight in the morning: Dawn broke over the valley.
- the beginning or rise of anything; advent: the dawn of civilization.
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- 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.
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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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for dawn on Thesaurus.com1. daybreak, sunrise. 5. appear, occur, break.
Antonyms
1. sunset.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dawning
Contemporary Examples
I think this realization is dawning on much of the media as well.
But perhaps, just perhaps, we are starting to see a dawning unease among politicians of both parties.
Suddenly it is dawning on everyone, including members of Congress, just how much power Facebook is amassing.
From the dawning of silent films, moviemakers have turned to books for grist.
And yet in an interview, Krikorian, too, seems oddly sanguine about the dawning of the Obama era.
Historical Examples
The first dawning of genuine love—the fervour of adoration, all were fled.
Gomez AriasJoaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso
Artois was conscious of a dawning hostility in the Marchesino.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
What would be the result upon her and upon her dawning gift?
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
The dawning intellect of her began to grasp already the nobility of work.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
And first Aristophanes drops, and then, as the day is dawning, Agathon.
SymposiumPlato
dawn
- daybreak; sunriseRelated adjective: auroral
- the sky when light first appears in the morning
- the beginning of something
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- 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)
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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
also see:
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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.