half-light

[haf-lahyt, hahf-]

noun

1. light that is about half its customary brightness, or that is partially dimmed or obscured.

   the half-light of early dawn; a room in half-light.

half-light

noun

1. a dim light, as at dawn or dusk

Word History and Origins

Origin of half-light¹

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

It was impossible to tell what was happening just offshore in the half-light.

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Even in the half-light, the words You'll Never Walk Alone, the Rodgers and Hammerstein song forever linked with Liverpool Football Club, were unmistakable.

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In “Resurrection,” Rebecca Hall speaks for seven minutes, in the hushed half-light of an office after hours, to an intern she has been mentoring.

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The room where the picture was taken is the "Eighteenth Century Room" and the photo has a rather painterly quality, with its rich red and gold colours, the King portrayed in half-light and half-shadow.

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Since the early 1800s, when rich, high-ranking Ottoman officials known as pashas were said to have used their houseboats to rendezvous with their mistresses, the boats have radiated a kind of louche, half-light glamour.

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Related Words

• dusk 
• sunset