Twelfth Night

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noun

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

the evening of Twelfth Day itself.

(italics) a comedy (1602) by Shakespeare.

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Origin of Twelfth Night

before 900; Middle English; Old English

Words nearby Twelfth Night

twelfth, Twelfth Amendment, twelfth cranial nerve, Twelfth Day, twelfth man, Twelfth Night, Twelfthtide, twelfth-year molar, twelve, twelvefold, twelve-inch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Twelfth Night in a sentence

People watch night soaps because the genre allows them to believe in a world where people just react off their baser instincts.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On Dec. 22, 1799, Sands told her cousins that she would be leaving to elope with a fellow boarder named Levi Weeks that night.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As of Thursday night, the brothers remained on the loose, last seen in northern France.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At the moment, the only chance I get is when I go do Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Are you bi-coastal now, between Portlandia and Late Night with Seth Meyers?
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The night wore on, and the clock downstairs was striking the hour of two when she suddenly awakened.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
Without preface, he abruptly asked, what had been told him of the Duke of Wharton's behaviour the preceding night.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Nevertheless the evening and the night passed away without incident.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
While they were doing this, he assembled the officers around him, and the meaning of our night march was explained to us.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Last night I saw Jean Baptiste lying prone upon the floor, and knew that she had beaten him down to it, and he had not resisted.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night

noun

the evening of Jan 5, the eve of Twelfth Day, formerly observed with various festal celebrations
the evening of Twelfth Day itself
(as modifier)Twelfth-Night customs

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

Cultural definitions for Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night

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.”