dawn

B2 Topic:Time

US /dɔn/ UK /dɔːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #2157

Meanings

1

noun
The time of day when light first appears in the sky.

We got up before dawn to watch the sunrise.
2

noun
The beginning or first appearance of something.

This invention marked the dawn of a new era.
3

verb
To become gradually clear or understood by someone.

It slowly dawned on me that I had left my keys at home.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the time of day when light... daybreak

More break cockcrow daylight dayspring laudssolrisesparrow-fartsun sunlight sunrisesunrising

Opposites

dusk

Word family

Forms dawneddawns

Derived forms dawnlessdawnlightdawnlikedawntimedawnyforedawnpredawnsundawnyesterdawn

Related forms afternoon crepuscular dawning evening midday midnight morning nightpostdawn

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

dawn horse
an extinct, dog-sized early relative of modern horses with four-toed front feet

Noun + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

It's always darkest before dawn

Etymology

From Middle English dawnen, either a back-formation from dawnynge or a modification of dawen (“to dawn”) after it. The noun is from the verb.

*dʰegʷʰ- Proto-Indo-European dawnen Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time

External links

# dawn

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /dɔn/
**IPA (UK):** /dɔːn/
**Frequency rank:** 2157

## Meanings
1. The time of day when light first appears in the sky.
2. The beginning or first appearance of something.
3. To become gradually clear or understood by someone.

## Examples
- We got up before dawn to watch the sunrise.
- This invention marked the dawn of a new era.
- It slowly dawned on me that I had left my keys at home.

## Synonyms
- break
- cockcrow
- daybreak
- daylight
- dayspring
- lauds
- solrise
- sparrow-fart
- sun
- sunlight
- sunrise
- sunrising

## Antonyms
- dusk

## Derived Forms
- dawnless
- dawnlight
- dawnlike
- dawntime
- dawny
- foredawn
- predawn
- sundawn
- yesterdawn

## Related Forms
- afternoon
- crepuscular
- dawning
- evening
- midday
- midnight
- morning
- night
- postdawn

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *dʰegʷʰ-
- Root: dawnen

## Etymology
From Middle English dawnen, either a back-formation from dawnynge or a modification of dawen (“to dawn”) after it. The noun is from the verb.

## AI Etymology
dawn comes from Middle English dawnen, either a back-formation from dawnynge or a modification of dawen (“to dawn”) after it. The noun is from the verb. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-, Middle English dawnen. Current senses include The time of day when light first appears in the sky and The beginning or first appearance of something. English relatives and later formations include dawnless, dawnlight, dawnlike, afternoon, crepuscular.

## Topics
- Time

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