Link Centre Dictionary

nocturnal

noc·tur·nal

UK/nɒkˈtɜː.nəl/ US/nɑkˈtɝ.nəl/ uncommon

adjective

1.

belonging to or active during the night

  • “nocturnal animals are active at night”
  • “nocturnal plants have flowers that open at night and close by day”
Antonyms
2.

of or relating to or occurring in the night

  • “nocturnal darkness”
3.

of or during or relating to the night

  • “a nocturnal journey”
  • “nocturnal stillness”
  • “nocturnal predators”
Similar

Origin

From Middle French nocturnal, from Latin nocturnālis (“nocturnal”), from Latin nocturnus (“nocturnal”), 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.

Phrases

  • nocturnal active photolocation
  • nocturnal arc
  • nocturnal arch
  • nocturnal delirium
  • nocturnal emission
  • nocturnal penile tumescence
  • nocturnal pollution
  • paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

Related words

Word family

See also

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.