Twilight \Twi"light`\, n. [OE. twilight, AS. twi- (see Twice)
+ le['o]ht light; hence the sense of doubtful or half light;
cf. LG. twelecht, G. zwielicht. See Light.]
1. The light perceived before the rising, and after the
setting, of the sun, or when the sun is less than 18[deg]
below the horizon, occasioned by the illumination of the
earth's atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their
reflection on the earth.
2. faint light; a dubious or uncertain medium through which
anything is viewed.
As when the sun . . . from behind the moon, In dim
eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds. --Milton.
The twilight of probability. --Locke.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |