Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or occurring in the evening.
- adjective Botany Opening or blooming in the evening.
- adjective Zoology Active in the evening.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In astrology, setting after the sun: said of a planet.
- Of or pertaining to the evening; happening or being in the evening.
- In botany, opening in the evening, as a flower.
- [capitalized] In geology, noting one of Prof. H. D. Rogers's divisions of the Paleozoic series in Pennsylvania.
- In zoology, crepuscular; flying or otherwise specially active in the twilight of evening, as an insect, a bat, or a bird: as, the vespertine or evening grosbeak, Hesperiphona vespertina.
- In astronomy, descending from the meridian to the horizon at the time of sunset.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the evening; happening or being in the evening.
- adjective (Bot.) Blossoming in the evening.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective poetic Occurring in or related to the
evening . - adjective zoology Pertaining to
animals which are principally active atdusk . - adjective botany Pertaining to
plants which open orbloom in the evening.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The Halictidae is one of the four bee families that contains some species that are crepuscular; these halictids are active only at dusk or in the early evening, and therefore technically considered "vespertine".
Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en] 2008
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I cringed away from the man, from the way he looked at me—now patiently, as if encouraging a slow learner; now furiously; now with a pregnant, vespertine calm.
Little Bee Chris Cleave 2008
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I cringed away from the man, from the way he looked at me—now patiently, as if encouraging a slow learner; now furiously; now with a pregnant, vespertine calm.
Little Bee Chris Cleave 2008
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I cringed away from the man, from the way he looked at me—now patiently, as if encouraging a slow learner; now furiously; now with a pregnant, vespertine calm.
Little Bee Chris Cleave 2008
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Whether they are matinal or vespertine, crepuscular animals are responding primarily to selection pressure.
Archive 2006-11-01 2006
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Whether they are matinal or vespertine, crepuscular animals are responding primarily to selection pressure.
The crepuscular life 2006
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Sheols of houris in chems upon divans, (revolted stellas vespertine vesamong them) at a bare (O!) mention of the scaly rybald exclaimed: Poisse!
Finnegans Wake 2006
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Entires armies were destroyed as they rested, for the evening was when the vespertine enemy was most cruel.
Archive 2004-03-01 Dean Francis Alfar 2004
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Entires armies were destroyed as they rested, for the evening was when the vespertine enemy was most cruel.
notes from the peanut gallery Dean Francis Alfar 2004
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I bought 5 new cds since last entry - Bjork's vespertine, Jamiroquai's Funk Oddyssey, Ben Folds Suburbs, Orbitals 'Altogether and the new Stereolab.
fengh Diary Entry fengh 2001
bookhling commented on the word vespertine
I wonder why the definition for vespertine doesn't show up on the wordie page.
August 18, 2008
vanishedone commented on the word vespertine
The grey definitions are supplied by WordNet, and vespertine appears not to be in their database.
August 18, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word vespertine
"Vespertine, in astronomy, is when a planet is descending to the west after sun-set, or shines as an evening star."
—Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine (1816), 600
October 12, 2008
super-clarice commented on the word vespertine
vespertine is a beautiful word
thanks for posting
May 7, 2009
qms commented on the word vespertine
When daylight's begun its decline
And darkness is poured out like wine
Our lusty young braves
Like bats from their caves
Emerge for the hunt vespertine.
August 16, 2016