Etymology of nocturn by etymonline

"nocturnal lepidopterous insect," Middle English motthe, from Old English moððe (Northumbrian mohðe), a common Germanic word (compare Old Norse ...

Etymology of nightingale by etymonline

The Latin word is glossed in Old English by æfgælþ, from af- "off" (see off; used here with pejorative or negative force) + a derivative of ...

Etymology of nightstick by etymonline

To work nights preserves the Old English genitive of time. Night soil "excrement" (1770) is so called because it was removed (from cesspools, ...

Etymology of nightmarish by etymonline

nightmare (n.) c. 1300, "an evil female spirit afflicting men (or horses) in their sleep with a feeling of suffocation," compounded from night + ...

Etymology of nightshade by etymonline

"plant of the genus solanum," with white flowers and black poisonous berries, Middle English night-shade, from Old English nihtscada, literally ...

Etymology of nightfall by etymonline

"the coming on of night," 1700; see night + fall (n.). See origin and meaning of nightfall.

Etymology of owl by etymonline

The bird was used in proverbs and figures of speech in reference to its nocturnal habits, but also in Middle English for ugliness (late 14c.), ...

Etymology of lemur by etymonline

lemur (n.) nocturnal Madagascar mammal, 1795, given this sense by Linnaeus, from Latin lemures (plural, singular lemurum) "evil spirits of ...

Etymology of matins by etymonline

Properly a midnight office (occupied by two services, nocturns and lauds) but sometimes celebrated at sunrise. The Old English word was uht-sang ...

Etymology of slumber by etymonline

mid-14c., slomberen, "doze, drowse, sleep lightly," an alteration of slumeren (mid-13c.), frequentative form of slumen "to doze," which is probably from Old ...

Etymology of nightcap by etymonline

also night-cap, late 14c., "covering for the head, worn in bed," from night + cap (n.). In the alcoholic sense, it is attested from 1818.

good-night | Etymology of good-night by etymonline

Origin of good-night: phrase in parting for the evening or retiring to sleep, c. 1200, from good (adj.) + night. As an exclamation of su .

day | Etymology of day by etymonline

From early 15c. as "performed in or occupying one day;" 1620s as "of or belonging to the daytime (as distinguished from nocturnal...

Etymology of badger by etymonline

type of low, nocturnal, burrowing, carnivorous animal, 1520s, perhaps from bage "badge" (see badge) + reduced form of -ard "one who carries some action or ...

Etymology of nodal by etymonline

early 15c., "a knot or lump," from Latin nodus "knot" (from PIE root *ned- "to bind, tie"). Originally borrowed c. 1400 in Latin form, ...

ugliness | Etymology of ugliness by etymonline

"repulsiveness of appearance," also "horror, dread," late 14c., uglinesse, from ugly + -ness. Middle English also had ugsomeness "dread, horror ...

Etymology of tease by etymonline

"pull apart and clean" adhering fibers of raw flax, wool, etc., from Old English tæsan… See origin and meaning of tease.

Etymology of involuntary by etymonline

"involuntary, unwilling," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + Latin voluntarius… See origin and meaning of involuntary.

Etymology of raphe by etymonline

in anatomy, "seam-like suture of two lateral halves," 1753, medical Latin, from Greek rhaphē "seam, suture (of a skull)," from rhaptein "to sew ...

bar | Etymology of bar by etymonline

"stake or rod of iron used to fasten a door or gate," from Old French barre "beam, bar,… See origin and meaning of bar.