This week’s theme
Words related to time

This week’s words
timeous
yealing
witching hour
meridian
ephemeral

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(WICH-ing our)

MEANING:

noun: Midnight.

ETYMOLOGY:

From the belief that witches are the most active at that time. Earliest documented use: 1762.

NOTES:

Some say the witching hour is midnight while others believe it’s 3-4 am. The term witching hour has also been applied to early evening when babies supposedly cry more often. In the world of stock markets, it is the last hour of trading on the third Friday of certain months when there’s more volatility. So which one is it? Only witches know.

USAGE:

“Mari, a student, prefers to be awake, and spends the witching hours drinking coffee and reading in an all-night restaurant.”
Sleepless in Tokyo; The Economist (London, UK); May 17, 2007.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: