Nocturnal

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /nÉ’kˈtɜː(ɹ)nÉ™l/
• US IPA: /nÉ‘kˈtÉšnÉ™l/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)nÉ™l

Origin

From Latin nocturnus ("nocturnal, nightly"), from Latin nox ("night"), from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts ("night"). Cognates include Ancient Greek νύξ, Sanskrit नक्ति, Old English niht (English night) and Proto-Slavic *noťь.

Full definition of nocturnal

Adjective

1. (of a person, creature, group, or species) Primarily active during the night.nocturnal birds
2. (of an occurrence) Taking place at night.
• 2013-01-01, Paul Bartel, Ashli Moore, Avian Migration: The Ultimate Red-Eye Flight, Many of these classic methods are still used, with some modern improvements. For example, with the aid of special microphones and automated sound detection software, ornithologists recently reported … that pine siskins (Spinus pinus) undergo an irregular, nomadic type of nocturnal migration.
3. a suspicious nocturnal outing

Antonyms

• diurnal

Coordinate terms

• crepuscular