dusk1

[duhsk] /dʌsk/
noun
1.
the state or period of partial darkness between day and night; the dark part of twilight.
2.
partial darkness; shade; gloom:
She was barely visible in the dusk of the room.
Origin
1615-25; back formation from dusky

dusk2

[duhsk] /dʌsk/
adjective
1.
tending to darkness; dark.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
2.
to make or become dusk; darken.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English duske (adj.), dusken (v.); metathetic alteration of Old English dox dusky, doxian to turn dark; cognate with L. fuscus dark
Related forms
duskish, adjective
Examples from the web for dusk
  • At dusk the heat gave way to the cool evening air, and the camp divided into three groups.
  • The show is best at dusk and at night, when the glow of fume clouds contrasts against dark sky and sea.
  • They usually hunt at night or during the gloaming hours of dawn and dusk.
  • But the existence of dawn and dusk does not invalidate the distinction between night and day.
  • The dense early morning fog and dusk light isolate this beautiful oak tree creating a mysterious mood.
  • The dusk became darkness, and the hours wore far into the evening.
  • It was early dusk of a fall evening and the sky was overcast with clouds.
  • And as they made merry, dusk evening came upon them.
  • Fishing piers are usually open from dawn to dusk and some allow night use.
  • Early morning and dusk are the best times of the day to view wildlife.
British Dictionary definitions for dusk

dusk

/dʌsk/
noun
1.
twilight or the darker part of twilight
2.
(poetic) gloom; shade
adjective
3.
(poetic) shady; gloomy
verb
4.
(poetic) to make or become dark
Word Origin
Old English dox; related to Old Saxon dosan brown, Old High German tusin yellow, Norwegian dusmen misty, Latin fuscus dark brown
Word Origin and History for dusk
n.

c.1200, dosk "obscure, to become dark," perhaps from Old English dox "dark-haired, dark from the absence of light" (cognate with Swedish duska "be misty," Latin fuscus "dark," Sanskrit dhusarah "dust-colored;" also cf. Old English dosan "chestnut-brown," Old High German tusin "pale yellow") with transposition of -k- and -s-, perhaps via a Northumbrian variant (cf. colloquial ax for ask). But OED notes that "few of our words in -sk are of OE origin." A color word originally; the sense of "twilight" is recorded from 1620s.