# twilight

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtwaɪˌlaɪt/ · frequency rank #9,415

## Definitions
1. The soft light in the sky seen before the rising and (especially) after the setting of the sun, occasioned by the illumination of the earth’s atmosphere by the direct rays of the sun and their reflection on the earth.
2. The time when said light is visible; the period between daylight and darkness.
3. Any faint light through which something is seen.
4. The time when the sun is less than 18° below the horizon.
5. An in-between or fading condition through which something is perceived.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English twilight, twyelyghte, equivalent to twi- (“double, half-”) + light, literally ‘second light, half-light’. Cognate to Scots twa licht, twylicht, twielicht (“twilight”), Low German twilecht, twelecht (“twilight”), Dutch tweelicht (“twilight, dusk”), German Zwielicht (“twilight, dusk”). Compare Old English twēone lēoht (“twilight”).

## Common misspellings (13)
`tiwlight`, `ttwilight`, `twiilght`, `twilgiht`, `twiligght`, `twilighht`, `twilightt`, `twiligth`, `twilihgt`, `twillight`, `twliight`, `twwilight`, `wtilight`

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