vespertine

[ ves-per-tin, -tahyn ]

/ ˈvɛs pər tɪn, -ˌtaɪn /

adjective

of, relating to, or occurring in the evening: vespertine stillness.

Botany. opening or expanding in the evening, as certain flowers.

Zoology. appearing or flying in the early evening; crepuscular.

Nearby words

Also ves·per·ti·nal

[ves-per-tahyn-l] /ˌvɛs pərˈtaɪn l/.

Origin of vespertine

1495–1505; < Latin vespertīnus, equivalent to vesper vesper + -tīnus adj. suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vespertine

Odors from strong bacon and boiling coffee contended against the cut-plug fumes from the vespertine pipe.
The Trimmed Lamp|O. Henry
The vespertine hour was nigh, and over this iron landscape there floated the moon, an opal button in the sky.
Visionaries|James Huneker
Up Broadway Chandler moved with the vespertine dress parade.
The Four Million|O. Henry

British Dictionary definitions for vespertine

vespertine

/ (ˈvɛspəˌtaɪn) /

adjective

botany zoology appearing, opening, or active in the eveningvespertine flowers

occurring in the evening or (esp of stars) appearing or setting in the evening

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

Word Origin and History for vespertine

vespertine

adj.

c.1500, "of the evening," from Latin vespertinus, from vesper (see vesper).