lucubration

American  

[loo-kyoo-brey-shuhn] / ˌlu kjʊˈbreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. laborious work, study, thought, etc., especially at night.

2. the result of such activity, as a learned speech or dissertation.

3. Often lucubrations. any literary effort, especially of a pretentious or solemn nature.

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lucubration British  

/ ˌluːkjʊˈbreɪʃən /

noun

1. laborious study, esp at night

2. (often plural) a solemn literary work

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Etymology

Origin of lucubration

1585–95; < Latin lūcubrātiōn- (stem of lūcubrātiō ) night-work. See lucubrate, -ion

Example Sentences

In 1845 his famous poem, The Raven, came out, and in 1848 Eureka, a Prose Poem, a pseudo-scientific lucubration.

From A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by Cousin, John W. (John William)

Some may see our lucubration as we saw it; and others may see nothing but a drunken dream, or the nightmare of a distempered imagination. 

From The Note-Books of Samuel Butler by Butler, Samuel

In other cases, where the personal history of a well-known book seems worth detaching from our critical estimate of it, that shall be the subject of my lucubration.

From Gossip in a Library by Gosse, Edmund

Even his outward manner of life, in its flesh-and-blood physiognomy,—we search in vain through tons of dusty lucubration totally without interest, to catch here and there the corner of a feature of it.

From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 08 by Carlyle, Thomas

But I am here running into shreds of maxims from reading Tacitus this morning, which has driven me from my recommendation of public spirit, which was the intended purpose of this lucubration.

From The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886 by Ontario. Ministry of Education