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 at dusk.
  • adjective botany Pertaining to plants which open or bloom in the evening.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin vespertīnus, from vesper, evening; see vesper.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin vespertīnus

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Examples

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Whether they are matinal or vespertine, crepuscular animals are responding primarily to selection pressure.

    Archive 2006-11-01 2006

  • Whether they are matinal or vespertine, crepuscular animals are responding primarily to selection pressure.

    The crepuscular life 2006

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

Comments

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  • I wonder why the definition for vespertine doesn't show up on the wordie page.

    August 18, 2008

  • The grey definitions are supplied by WordNet, and vespertine appears not to be in their database.

    August 18, 2008

  • "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

  • vespertine is a beautiful word

    thanks for posting

    May 7, 2009

  • 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