Time of day
(Written on 9:42 PM 9/11/2006 GMT+7)
While memorizing Japanese words, I encounter lots of English words related to the time of the day. Some examples are morning, evening, daytime, and night.
I’ve previously taken those words for granted. However, revisiting them in a studious moment made me question my understanding. What is the definition of "morning"? When does "evening" start and end?
Using the definitions in Oxford Advanced Genie (this was a long time ago), I compiled a visual diagram using Inkscape. The PNG image is here. The SVG file is here but Firefox 1.5 can’t display it properly (because the SVG implementation is incomplete).
Those using a text-based browser can still read the relevant definitions:
night:
- the time of darkness between one day and the next
- the evening until you go to bed
daytime: the period during the day between the time when it gets light and the time when it gets dark
dawn/sunrise/daybreak: the time of day when light first appears
noon/midday: 12 o’clock in the middle of the day
dusk: the time of day when the light has almost gone, but it is not yet dark
midnight: 12 o’clock at night
morning: (…)
- the early part of the day from the time when people wake up until midday or before lunch
- the part of the day from midnight to midday
afternoon: the part of the day from 12 midday until about 6 o’clock
evening: the part of the day between the afternoon and the time you go to bed
