English
tweenlight
Tweenlight comes from Old English twēonlēoht ‘twilight’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150twēonlēoht‘twilight’literally ‘double-/doubtful-/uncertain-light’
- Englishearliest quotation 1832tweenlight
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150twēonlēoht‘twilight’literally ‘double-/doubtful-/uncertain-light’
- Englishearliest quotation 1832tweenlight
Earliest quotation: 1832, H. Coates, The water queen: “Faith, sir, she says that Fergus has had an…”
The story
The alternative spellings are due to a misassociation with between, erroneously interpreting tweenlight as if it were a shortening of between-light.
Every English word from Old English twēonlēoht
Today it means
noun The period between dusk and nightfall; twilight.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English twēonlēoht / tweenlight