Twelfth Night

noun

1. the evening before Twelfth Day, formerly observed with various festivities.

2. the evening of Twelfth Day itself.

3. (italics),  a comedy (1602) by Shakespeare.

Twelfth Night

noun

1. 1. the evening of Jan 5, the eve of Twelfth Day, formerly observed with various festal celebrations

   2. the evening of Twelfth Day itself

   3. ( as modifier )

      Twelfth-Night customs

Twelfth Night

1. A comedy by William Shakespeare. The two central characters are a twin brother and sister; each thinks that the other has been lost at sea. The sister disguises herself as a boy and goes to serve the duke of the country, a bitter man disappointed in love. The brother reappears and marries the woman whom the duke has been pursuing, and his sister marries the duke. Twelfth Night begins with the line “If music be the food of love, play on.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Twelfth Night¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English

Example Sentences

Her first foray on the Metropolitan Opera stage was the result of a happy accident: the storied institution's general manager offered her the role after seeing her perform Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in the open-air theater in Central Park this summer.

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On 24 June, it will start a run of performances of Twelfth Night at its new home of Buckden Towers, a few miles down the A1 in Buckden.

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For the life of me, I could not figure out what to make of Ellie’s brief capture by the Seraphites, which felt a lot like finale padding — don’t forget the crazy cult in the woods about which we know nothing yet! — or even her “Twelfth Night”-like near-drowning.

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He continued to perform in shows and notably in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London when he was 16.

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He performed the role of Eliza Doolittle from Shaw's play Pygmalion, and the part of Cesario in Twelfth Night - not realising the part was female character Viola disguised in male clothing.

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