noontime

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the time around noon or midday

   The streets were quiet in the noontime heat.

2. 2
   noun

   figurative: the period when a life, career, or influence is at its height

   The composer produced his finest work in the noontime of his career.

A compound of noon + time, related to older noontide. Noon comes from Old English non, originally the ninth canonical hour; the time associated with it gradually shifted earlier to midday.

Topics