Meaning

noun the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)

noun a later concluding time period

noun the early part of night (from dinner until bedtime) spent in a special way

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs Proto-West Germanic *ābanþ Old English ǣfen Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-West Germanic *-ōn Proto-West Germanic *-ōjan Old English -ian…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0