nocturnal
(adjective) belonging to or active during the night; “nocturnal animals are active at night”; “nocturnal plants have flowers that open at night and close by day”
nocturnal
(adjective) of or relating to or occurring in the night; “nocturnal darkness”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
nocturnal (comparative more nocturnal, superlative most nocturnal)
(of a person, creature, group, or species) Primarily active during the night.
(of an occurrence) Taking place at night, nightly.
• diurnal
• crepuscular
nocturnal (plural nocturnals)
A person or creature that is active at night.
(historical) A device for telling the time at night, rather like a sundial but read according to the stars.
Synonym: star clock
Source: Wiktionary
Noc*tur"nal, a. Etym: [L. nocturnalis, nocturnus, fr. nox, noctis, night. See Night, and cf. Nocturn.]
1. Of, pertaining to, done or occuring in, the night; as, nocturnal darkness, cries, expedition, etc.; -- opposed to Ant: diurnal. Dryden.
2. Having a habit of seeking food or moving about at night; as, nocturnal birds and insects.
Noc*tur"nal, n.
Definition: An instrument formerly used for taking the altitude of the stars, etc., at sea. I. Watts.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 July 2025
(noun) the faculty through which the external world is apprehended; “in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
