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dusk

US //ˈdəsk// UK //dˈʌsk// dusk
  1. 1 the time before night (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the time of day when it is nearly dark, just after the evening light starts to fade.

    the final stage of twilight before the onset of night. Uncountable in general reference, though countable when referring to specific instances.

    Example

    The street lights usually come on at dusk when the sky turns purple.

    Example

    As dusk fell over the valley, the hikers quickened their pace to reach the campsite before the trail became invisible in the dark.
  2. 2 to grow dark (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Literary

    to slowly become dark as the day ends.

    to grow dark or to begin to lose light. Intransitive and primarily found in poetic or descriptive prose.

    Example

    The woods began to dusk as the shadows grew longer between the trees.

    Example

    The landscape dusks rapidly in the high mountains, catching many unprepared travellers without adequate lighting.
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  1. 3 dark in colour (adj.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

    having a dark or shadowy colour.

    tending toward darkness or blackness in hue. Often replaced by 'dusky' in modern speech.

    Example

    The bird had dusk feathers that helped it hide in the shadows.

    Example

    The ancient tapestry was woven with dusk threads of indigo and charcoal, depicting a scene of midnight revelry.
Etymology 1

From Middle English dosk, dusk(e) (“dusky”, adj.), from Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”), from Proto-Germanic duskaz (“dark, smoky”), from Proto-Indo-European dʰwes-, related to *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, mist, haze”). Cognate to Latin fuscus (“dark, dusky”), Sanskrit धूसर (dhūsara, “dust-colored”), Old Irish donn (“dark”). Related to dye, dust and dun (see these for more).

Etymology 2

From Middle English dusken, from Old English doxian.

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