# midnight

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmɪd(ˌ)naɪt/ · frequency rank #4,253

## Definitions
1. The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise.
2. Twelve o'clock at night exactly.
3. Synonym of boxcars (“a pair of sixes”).

## Etymology
From Middle English midnight, from Old English midniht, from Proto-Germanic *midjanahts (“midnight”), equivalent to mid- + night. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Midnoacht (“midnight”), Old High German mittinaht (“midnight”), Danish midnat (“midnight”), Swedish midnatt (“midnight”), Icelandic miðnætti (“midnight”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Middernoacht (“midnight”), Dutch middernacht (“midnight”), German Mitternacht (“midnight”).

## Easily confused with
- **McKnight** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mcknight-vs-midnight)

## Common misspellings (13)
`imdnight`, `mdinight`, `middnight`, `midinght`, `midngiht`, `midnigght`, `midnighht`, `midnightt`, `midnigth`, `midnihgt`, `midnnight`, `mindight`, `mmidnight`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/midnight