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noctilucent

[nok-tuh-loo-suh nt]
adjective Meteorology.
  1. (of high-altitude clouds) visible during the short night of the summer.
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Origin of noctilucent

First recorded in 1885–90; nocti- + lucent
Related formsnoc·ti·lu·cence, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for noctilucent

noctilucent

adjective
  1. shining at night, usu. of very thin high altitude clouds observable in the summer twilight sky
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Derived Formsnoctilucence, noun
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
noctilucent in Science

noctilucent

[nŏk′tə-lōō′sənt]
  1. Luminous at night. The term is used especially to describe certain high atmospheric cloud formations visible during summer nights at high latitudes.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.