Evening in Parambikkulam, Kerala, IndiaView on the bay of Naples, overlooking Mount Vesuvius at 7:30 p.m. local solar (standard) time
Evening is the period of a day that begins at the end of daylight and overlaps with the beginning of night.[1] It generally indicates the period of time when the sun is close to the horizon and comprises the periods of civil, nautical and astronomical twilight. The exact times when evening begins and ends are subjective and depend on location and time of year. It may be used colloquially to include the last waning daytime shortly before sunset.[2]
The word is derived from the Old Englishǣfnung, meaning 'the coming of evening, sunset, time around sunset', which originated from æfnian, meaning "become evening, grow toward evening". The Old English æfnian originated from æfen (eve), which meant "the time between sunset and darkness", and was synonymous with even (Old English æfen), which meant the end of the day. The use of "evening" dates from the mid 15th century.[3]
The Encyclopædia Britannica defines evening as varying according to daylight and lifestyle, but says that many people consider it to begin at 4 p.m.[4]
In a social context, the Oxford English Dictionary defines evening as "the time from about 6 p.m., or sunset if earlier".[1]
As such there is no fixed consensus on when the period of evening starts.
^ ab"evening, n."www.oed.com. Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 18 September 2023. The close of day, esp. the time from about 6 p.m., or sunset if earlier, to bedtime; the period between afternoon and night.
^Grego, Peter (2008). "Recording Mercury and Venus". Venus and Mercury, and How to Observe Them. Astronomers’ Observing Guides. New York, NY.: Springer. pp. 177–206. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-74286-1_5. ISBN978-0-387-74285-4.
^Marsden, B. G. (1994). Milani, Andrea; Di Martino, Michel; Cellino, A. (eds.). Search Programs for Comets. Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 1993: Proceedings of the 160th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Belgirate, Italy, June 14-18, 1993. International Astronomical Union. Symposium no. 160. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 1. Bibcode:1994IAUS..160....1M.
