Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The whole natural day, or day and night, consisting of twenty-four hours.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A period of one day and one night, a date: in the West, this is a period of 24 consecutive hours.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek νυχθήμερον (nukhthemeron), noun use of the neuter singular form of νυχθήμερος ("lasting a day and night"), from νύξ (nuks, "night") + ἡμέρα (hēmera, "day").

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Examples

  • SNAIL'S TALES: A thelemic gallimaufry for this pulchritudinous nychthemeron skip to main

    A thelemic gallimaufry AYDIN 2008

  • A thelemic gallimaufry for this pulchritudinous nychthemeron

    A thelemic gallimaufry AYDIN 2008

  • He, finding the English word _day_ employed in the measurement of the intervals, takes it for granted that this must mean a _nychthemeron_ of twenty-four hours; imports, therefore, into the biblical text this conceit; fights for his own opinion, as for a revelation from heaven; and thus disfigures the great inaugural chapter of human history with this single feature of a fairy-tale, where everything else is told with the most majestic simplicity.

    Theological Essays and Other Papers — Volume 1 Thomas De Quincey 1822

Comments

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  • a 24 hour period

    December 7, 2006

  • Why don't more people know this word? It is useful, and has a simple enough meaning; once you get past the Hellenic-derived spelling it is relatively easy to pronounce; what could be the problem? Perhaps it suffers the ill fortune of not being Anglo-Saxon, and thus losing out on the head start that such words as "day" and "night" have. Do it a favour. Take "nychthemeron" home today.

    December 7, 2006

  • "A full period of day and night; 24 hours."

    ~ http://www.brownielocks.com/words.html ~

    September 17, 2009