nocturnal

C1 Topic:Time

US /nɑkˈtɝ.nəl/ UK /nɒkˈtɜː(ɹ).nəl/ See IPA manual

adj noun Freq #20236

Meanings

1

adj
Active at night rather than during the day.

Owls and bats are nocturnal animals.
2

adj
Happening during the night.

His nocturnal wanderings kept the whole house awake.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

lucifugousnightishnightly nighttime

Opposites

diurnalnonnocturnal

Word family

Derived forms noctophobianocturnalismnocturnalistnocturnalitynocturnallynonnocturnalseminocturnal

Etymology

From Middle French nocturnal, from Latin nocturnus (“nocturnal, nightly”), from Latin nox (“night”), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”). Cognates include Ancient Greek νύξ (núx), Sanskrit नक्ति (nákti), Old English niht (English night) and Proto-Slavic *noťь.

nocturnal Middle French nocturnus Latin nox Latin *nókʷts Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Time Word Formation & Derivatives

# nocturnal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** nɑkˈtɝ.nəl
**IPA (UK):** nɒkˈtɜː(ɹ).nəl
**Frequency rank:** 20236

## Meanings
1. Active at night rather than during the day.
2. Happening during the night.

## Examples
- Owls and bats are nocturnal animals.
- His nocturnal wanderings kept the whole house awake.

## Synonyms
- lucifugous
- nightish
- nightly
- nighttime

## Antonyms
- diurnal
- nonnocturnal

## Derived Forms
- noctophobia
- nocturnalism
- nocturnalist
- nocturnality
- nocturnally
- nonnocturnal
- seminocturnal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: nocturnal
- Root: nocturnus
- Root: nox
- Root: *nókʷts

## Etymology
From Middle French nocturnal, from Latin nocturnus (“nocturnal, nightly”), from Latin nox (“night”), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”). Cognates include Ancient Greek νύξ (núx), Sanskrit नक्ति (nákti), Old English niht (English night) and Proto-Slavic *noťь.

## AI Etymology
Nocturnal is from Middle French nocturnal, from Latin nocturnus (“nocturnal, nightly”), from Latin nox (“night”), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”). Cognates include Ancient Greek νύξ (núx), Sanskrit नक्ति (nákti), Old English niht (English night) and Proto-Slavic *noťь. In present-day use, it can mean active at night rather than during the day, or happening during the night. Derived formations include noctophobia, nocturnalism, nocturnalist, nocturnality, and nocturnally.

## Topics
- Time
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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nocturnal

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