daylight

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The natural light that is ambient in daytime, being mostly sunlight (both direct and indirect, on either sunny days or cloudy days).

   Meronym: sunbeams

2. 2
   noun

   The period of time between sunrise and sunset.

   burning daylight

3. 3
   noun

   Daybreak.

   We had only two hours to work before daylight.

4. 4
   noun

   Exposure to public scrutiny.

   Budgeting a spy organization can't very well be done in daylight.

5. 5
   noun

   A clear, open space.

   All small running backs instinctively run to daylight.

6. 6
   noun

   The space between platens on a press or similar machinery.

   The minimum and maximum daylights on an injection molding machine determines the sizes of the items it can make.

7. 7
   noun

   Emotional or psychological distance between people, or disagreement.

   We completely agree. There's no daylight between us on the issue.

8. 8
   noun

   Meaningful or noticeable difference or distinction between two things, especially concepts.

   There's not much daylight between saying that the universe is God and saying that God doesn't exist.

Etymology

From Middle English daye-lighte, dey liȝht, dailiȝt, day-liht, dai-liht (also as days lyȝt, daies liht), equivalent to day + light. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Deegeslucht, Daisljoacht (“daylight”), West Frisian deiljocht (“daylight”), Dutch daglicht (“daylight”), German Tageslicht (“daylight”).