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Nacht. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Nacht, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Nacht in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Nacht you have here. The definition of the word
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German
Etymology
From Middle High German naht, from Old High German naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts. Akin to Dutch nacht, English night, Danish nat, Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (nahts).
Pronunciation
Noun
Nacht f (genitive Nacht, plural Nächte, diminutive Nächtchen n)
- night
Die Nacht war lang und frostig.- The night was long and chilly.
- darkness
Sie wurden von der Nacht verschlungen.- They were engulfed by the darkness (of the night).
Usage notes
- In contemporary German, Nacht is used somewhat differently than English night. Although Nacht can be a general term for the dark hours of the day, when used as a time measurement it refers only to those hours when most ordinary people are in bed (roughly 11 p.m. till 6 a.m.). So while one says in English: “Let's have a beer tonight!”, in German one needs to say: Lass uns heute Abend ein Bier trinken! (“Let's have a beer this evening!”)
- In English, one says in the night or in the day referring to a time of day, but on that night or on that day referring to a date. German, instead, always uses in with Nacht and always uses an with Tag (except when the latter simply means “time, era”, e.g. in jenen Tagen (“in those days”)).
- A (masculine) genitive Nachts occurs only in the phrases des Nachts (“at night”) and eines Nachts (“one night”) and alone as the adverbial genitive Nachts (cp. nachts).
Declension
Derived terms
See also
(times of day) Tageszeit; Morgendämmerung, Morgen, Vormittag, Mittag, Nachmittag (Frühnachmittag, Spätnachmittag), Abenddämmerung, Abend, Nacht, Mitternacht (Category: de:Times of day)
Further reading
Hunsrik
- naacht (Wiesemann spelling system)
Etymology
From Old High German naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts (“night”), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”).
Pronunciation
Noun
Nacht f (plural Necht)
- night
Die Nacht is kalt.- The night is cold.
Further reading
Low German
Etymology
From Old Saxon naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts (“night”), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”).
Pronunciation
Noun
Nacht f (plural Nachten)
- night
Further reading
- Der neue SASS: Plattdeutsches Wörterbuch, Plattdeutsch - Hochdeutsch, Hochdeutsch - Plattdeutsch. Plattdeutsche Rechtschreibung, sixth revised edition (2011, →ISBN, Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster)
North Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian nacht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
Noun
Nacht m or f (plural Nachter)
- (Sylt) night
Pennsylvania German
Etymology
From Middle High German nacht, from Old High German naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts. Compare German Nacht, Dutch nacht, English night.
Noun
Nacht f (plural Nachde)
- night