ENGLISH
REFERENCE

eve

n. C / U
B1 Intermediate US //ˈiv// UK //ˈiːv// eve Archaic Literary

n. the day or evening right before a special holiday or event. You often use it to talk about the time when people are getting ready for a big celebration.

n. the period or day immediately preceding a specific event, holiday, or occasion. Often used in fixed expressions for major holidays or to describe the tense atmosphere before a significant change.


SIMPLE

We always decorate the tree on Christmas Eve.

CONTEXTUAL

The city was quiet on the eve of the election as citizens prepared to cast their votes the next morning.

COMPLEX

Historians often look at the social tensions present on the eve of the revolution to understand why the old government collapsed so suddenly.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English Eve, Eue, from Old English Ēua, Ēfe, from Latin Eva, from Ancient Greek Εὔα (Eúa), from Biblical Hebrew חַוָּה (ḥawwā).

Etymology 2

A pun on eavesdropper.

Etymology 3

Either a variant of Eaves or a matronymic from the given name.

Usage

Often used in the construction 'on the eve of' followed by a noun phrase. When referring to the night before a specific holiday, it is usually capitalized.

Idioms2 entries

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