mirkning
English
Alternative forms
- mirkenin, mirkinnen, mirknin, murknin, mirkening
Etymology
From Scots mirken (“to grow dark, darken, become overcast”), from Old Norse myrkna (“dark, gloomy”) + -ing (noun-forming suffix), equivalent to mirken + -ing.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɜːk(ə)nɪŋ/
Noun
mirkning (plural not attested)
- (Scotland, now Orkney and Shetland) Late twilight, dusk; darkening of evening.
- Synonyms: crepusculum, dimmity, nightfall
- 1883, Anthony Cunningham M’Bryde, edited by David Herschell Edwards, Modern Scottish Poets: With Biographical and Critical Notices, page 185:
- The gloaming glories o’ the lift hae dwined awa’ to grey,
And clachan lichts begin to blink ayont the mirkning brae.