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evenings

[eev-ningz]
adverb
  1. in or during the evening regularly: She worked days and studied evenings.
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Origin of evenings

First recorded in 1865–80

evening

[eev-ning]
noun
  1. the latter part of the day and early part of the night.
  2. the period from sunset to bedtime: He spent the evenings reading.
  3. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. the time between noon and sunset, including the afternoon and twilight.
  4. any concluding or declining period: the evening of life.
  5. an evening's reception or entertainment: Their evenings at home were attended by the socially prominent.
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adjective
  1. of or relating to evening: The evening sky shone with stars.
  2. occurring or seen in the evening: the evening mist.
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Origin of evening

before 1000; Middle English; Old English ǣfnung, equivalent to ǣfn(ian) draw toward evening + -ung noun suffix

Synonyms

1. eventide, dusk, twilight, gloaming, nightfall.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

evendeclinedimduskevedarknightfallsundowneventideclosetwilightsunsetduskinessblack

Examples from the Web for evenings

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Here he cooked and ate his meals, and here he spent his solitary evenings.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • He spent his evenings when at Hawarden in a cosy corner of the library reading.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

  • I am almost as lonely as I was on some of those evenings in the old boarding-house.

  • One feature of the "Monday Evenings" had, in the course of time, to be changed.

  • There were no evenings when Dr. Max could bring Sidney back to the hospital in his car.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for evenings

evenings

adverb
  1. informal in the evening, esp regularly
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evening

noun
  1. the latter part of the day, esp from late afternoon until nightfall
  2. the latter or concluding periodthe evening of one's life
  3. the early part of the night spent in a specified wayan evening at the theatre
  4. an entertainment, meeting, or reception held in the early part of the night
  5. Southern US and British dialect the period between noon and sunset
  6. (modifier) of, used, or occurring in the eveningthe evening papers
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See also evenings

Word Origin

Old English ǣfnung; related to Old Frisian ēvend, Old High German āband
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 evenings

evening

n.

from Old English æfnung "evening, sunset," verbal noun from æfnian "become evening, grow toward evening," from æfen "evening" (see eve). As a synonym of even (n.), it dates from mid-15c. and now entirely replaces the older word in this sense. Another Old English noun for "evening" was cwildtid.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with evenings

evening

see good day (evening).

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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.