noonday
Meaning
The middle of the day; noon.
Structure
Usage
The sun was at its zenith in the blistering noonday heat.
They agreed to meet at the old clock tower at noonday.
The street was deserted in the quiet of the noonday hour.
Etymology
The word 'noonday' is a transparent compound formed from two native English elements. 'Noon' itself has undergone a significant semantic shift; derived from the Latin 'nona hora' (the ninth hour), it originally referred to 3 p.m. in the Roman and early medieval systems of timekeeping. Over centuries, the time of the main midday meal and the church service of Nones shifted earlier, pulling the meaning of 'noon' back to 12 p.m. The second element, 'day', from the ancient Germanic root for the daylight period, specifies the time frame. Thus, 'noonday' literally and logically means "the time of midday within the daylight period," solidifying its modern sense as the peak of the day's light.
Analysis
- noon: From Old English 'nōn', meaning the ninth hour from sunrise (about 3 p.m.), later shifting to midday. Its ultimate origin is Latin 'nōna (hōra)', meaning "ninth (hour)". - day: From Old English 'dæg', meaning the period of daylight. Its origin is Proto-Germanic 'dagaz'.