evening

Etymology 1

From Middle English evening, evenyng, from Old English ǣfnung, from ǣfnian < ǣfen (from Proto-West Germanic *ābanþ, from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs), corresponding to even + -ing.

noun

1. The time of the day between dusk and night, when it gets dark.
   Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal. 2013 July–August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4
2. The time of the day between the approximate time of midwinter dusk and midnight (compare afternoon); the period after the end of regular office working hours.
3. (figurative) A concluding time period; a point in time near the end of something; the beginning of the end of something.
   It was the evening of the Roman Empire.
   The latter [locomotive] had worked on the Hampton Court branch for many years, and was spending the evening of its life in the West Country. 1950 January, “Notes and News: The North Cornwall Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 62
4. A party or gathering held in the evening.
   A few Gorllewin Cymru/West Wales Branch members attended an evening at the Dragon Hotel, Swansea, titled Photographic Techniques in Industry. 1980, Management Services, page 50

Etymology 2

Inflected forms.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of even

Etymology 3

Inflected forms.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of evene