Dämmerung

dusk, twilight

noun DEM-mer-oong Rare

Also means

dawn

Usage Note

Dämmerung can refer to either dawn (Morgendämmerung) or dusk (Abenddämmerung) depending on context; used alone it most often means the evening twilight. It has a poetic quality and appears frequently in literary German.

Examples

"Bei einbrechender Dämmerung kehrten die Wanderer zurück."

Natural Translation

At the onset of dusk the hikers returned.

Literal Translation

At breaking-in dusk returned the hikers.

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