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. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the time of day when light... daybreak More breakcockcrowdaylightdayspringlaudssolrisesparrow-fartsunsunlightsunrisesunrising ↔ Opposites dusk Word family Forms dawneddawns Derived forms dawnlessdawnlightdawnlikedawntimedawnyforedawnpredawnsundawnyesterdawn Related forms afternooncrepusculardawningeveningmiddaymidnightmorningnightpostdawn Common collocations dawn horse Noun + noun Etymology AI details 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 Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown