Twelfth Night

American  

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.

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Twelfth Night British  

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

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Twelfth Night Cultural  

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.”

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Etymology

Origin of Twelfth Night

before 900; Middle English; Old English

Example Sentences

One of the largest nationwide anti-government protests took place on Thursday, the twelfth night of demonstrations.

From BBC

This year brought Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” with Lupita Nyong’o and her brother Junior as twins, along with Sandra Oh, Peter Dinklage and Jesse Tyler Ferguson; a new “Nutcracker” from the English National Ballet, and a documentary on pioneering Black opera singer Grace Bumbry.

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From Barron's

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.

From BBC

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.

From Los Angeles Times