Standard Lemma guide

dawning

noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ˈdɔːnɪŋ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • cot-caught-merger: /ˈdɑːnɪŋ/
  • rhymes with -ɔːnɪŋ
  • CMU ARPABET: D AO1 N IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Dawn.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: poetic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The first beginnings of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

present participle and gerund of dawn

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the first light of day

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • we got up before dawn
  • they talked until morning

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dawn, morning, aurora, first light, daybreak, break of day, break of the day, dayspring, sunrise, sunup, cockcrow

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hour, time of day

History

Etymology

From Middle English dawnynge, an alteration of dawing, under the influence of North Germanic cognates (compare Swedish, Danish dagning). See daw (“to dawn”).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Māori: pūaotanga — dawn
  • Russian: рассве́т (rassvét) — dawn