The first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise; the beginning of day.
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Middle Englishc. 1200well-attested
A back-formation from Middle English 'dawning' (daybreak, the brightening of the sky before sunrise), which derived from Old English 'dagung' (a becoming day, the break of day), from the verb 'dagian' (to become day, to dawn — used impersonally as 'hit dagode,' it dawned). Theroot is Old English 'dæg' (day), from Proto-Germanic *dagaz, probably from PIE *dʰegʷʰ- (to burn — the burning of the sky at sunrise). The same root may underlie Sanskrit
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English had a beautiful Old English word for dawn — 'dægrēd,' literally 'day-counsel' or 'day-redness' — but it was gradually displaced by the simpler 'dawn' during the Middle English period.
breaking over darkness. The Proto-Germanic *dagaz is related to Gothic 'dags' and Old High German 'tag.' Key roots: dagian (Old English: "to become day"), *dagaz (Proto-Germanic: "day"), *dʰegʷʰ- (Proto-Indo-European: "to burn, to be hot").