Late vs Night - What's the difference?
late | night |
Near the end of a period of time.
Specifically, near the end of the day.
(usually, not used comparatively) Associated with the end of a period.
Not arriving until after an expected time.
Not having had an expected menstrual period.
(deceased)(not comparable, euphemistic) Deceased, dead:
* , chapter=12
, title= Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now; departed, or gone out of office.
Recent — relative to the noun it modifies.
* 1914 , (Robert Frost), (North of Boston) , "A Hundred Collars":
(informal) A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place late in the day or at night.
* 2007 , Paul W Browning, The Good Guys Wear Blue
After a deadline has passed, past a designated time.
formerly, especially in the context of service in a military unit.
:Colonel Easterwood, late of the 34th Carbines, was a guest at the dinner party.
(lb) The period between sunset and sunrise, when a location faces far away from the sun, thus when the sky is dark.
:
*
*:The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=
, volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= (lb) An evening or night spent at a particular activity.
:
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (lb) A night (and part of the days before and after it) spent in a hotel or other accommodation.
:
(lb) Nightfall.
:
(lb) Darkness.
:
(lb) A dark blue colour, midnight blue.
:
A night's worth of competitions, generally one game.
To spend a night (in a place), to overnight.
*2008 , Richard F. Burton, Arabian Nights, in 16 volumes , p.284:
*:"So I took seat and ate somewhat of my vivers, my horse also feeding upon his fodder, and we nighted in that spot and next morning I set out."
As nouns the difference between late and night
is that late is a shift (scheduled work period) that takes place late in the day or at night while night is the period between sunset and sunrise, when a location faces far away from the sun, thus when the sky is dark.As an adjective late
is near the end of a period of time.As an adverb late
is after a deadline has passed, past a designated time.As an interjection night is
short for good night.As a verb night is
to spend a night (in a place), to overnight.As a proper noun Night is
the goddess of the night in Heathenry.late
English
Adjective
(er)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=To Edward […] he was terrible, nerve-inflaming, poisonously asphyxiating. He sat rocking himself in the late Mr. Churchill's swing chair, smoking and twaddling.}}
- Lancaster bore him — such a little town, / Such a great man. It doesn't see him often / Of late years, though he keeps the old homestead / And sends the children down there with their mother
Usage notes
* (deceased) (term) in this sense is unusual among English adjectives in that it qualifies named individuals (in phrases like (term)) without creating a contrast with another Mary who is not late. Contrast (hungry): a phrase like (term) is usually only used if another Mary is under discussion who is not hungry.Noun
(en noun)- At about 11 pm one night in Corporation Street my watch were on van patrol and Yellow Watch were on lates as usual.
Adverb
(er)- We drove as fast as we could, but we still arrived late .
Derived terms
* a day late and a dollar short * as of late * better late than never * * late bloomer * latecomer * late in the day * late in the game * lately * late night * later * sooner or laterReferences
* 2009 April 3, , "Re: Has 'late' split up into a pair of homonyms?", message-ID <bdb13686-a6e4-43cd-8445-efe353365394@l13g2000vba.googlegroups.com>, alt.usage.english'' and ''sci.lang , Usenet.Statistics
*Anagrams
* * * * * * * 1000 English basic words ----night
English
(wikipedia night)Alternative forms
* nite (informal)Noun
Ian Sample
Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains, passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
The new masters and commanders, passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}