aften

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish aftæn, from Old Norse aptann, from Proto-Germanic *aftanaz, *aftunaz. Cognate with Swedish afton and Norwegian Nynorsk aftan. The West Germanic forms English even, Dutch avond, and German Abend go back to a different form: *ēbanþs. The relation between the two forms is unclear.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈaftən/, /ˈɑftən/, [ˈɑ̈fd̥n̩]

Noun

aften c (singular definite aftenen or aftnen, plural indefinite aftener or aftner)

evening
night (evening)

Inflection

Declension of aften

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	aften	aftenen aftnen	aftener aftner	aftenerne aftnerne
genitive	aftens	aftenens aftnens	afteners aftners	aftenernes aftnernes

Synonyms

kvæld

Antonyms

morgen

Derived terms

Descendants

Norwegian Bokmål: aften

References

“aften” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Noun

aften

plural of aft

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:

kveld

Wikipedia ^nb

An evening in Fiskeløysen, Norway.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈaftn̩/, /ˈaftən/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -aftn̩, -ən
Hyphenation: af‧ten

Etymology 1

From Danish aften (“evening; night”), from Old Danish aftæn, from Old Norse aptann (“evening”), from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs (“evening”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“on, at, near”), of *h₁eps, of *h₁ep-.

Cognate with Danish aften, Swedish afton, Faroese aftan and Icelandic aftann.

Noun

aften m (definite singular aftenen, indefinite plural aftener, definite plural aftenene)

night; an evening (the time of the day between dusk and night, when it gets dark)
- 1890, Henrik Ibsen, Hedda Gabler, page 235:
  så kommer jeg op om aftnerne
  then I get up in the evenings
- 1877, Henrik Ibsen, Samfundets støtter, page 180:
  jeg har tænkt meget i den sidste tid … og mest i denne aften
  I've been thinking a lot lately… and mostly this evening
- 1873, Henrik Ibsen, Kejser og Galilæer, page 378:
  ofrer han ikke både morgen og aften …?
  does he not sacrifice both morning and evening…?
- 1885, Henrik Ibsen, Brand, page 118:
  langs fjorden stryger aftnens vind
  along the fjord the evening wind blows
- 1879, Henrik Ibsen, Et dukkehjem, page 127:
  han kommer hjem imorgen aften
  he's coming home tomorrow night
- 1926, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Samlede Digte I, page 136:
  aftnen er stille, timerne trille lydløse ned i det evige væld
  the evening is quiet, the hours roll silently into the eternal power
- 2012 December 12, Dagsavisen‎^{[dagsavisen.no]}:
  angret du litt på at du boikottet utdelingen når du så hvor gøy de hadde det på banketten i går aften?
  did you regret a bit that you boycotted the distribution when you saw how much fun they had at the banquet last night?
- 2013 October 12, Vesteraalens avis‎^{[vesteraalensavis.no]}:
  allerede samme aften meldte det seg 14 deltakere som i de to følgende dager fullførte kurset
  already the same evening, 14 participants signed up who completed the course in the following two days
- 1899, Henrik Ibsen, Når vi døde vågner, page 86:
  vi ta’r afsted allerede iaften
  we're leaving tonight
- 1874, Henrik Ibsen, De unges forbund, page 30:
  god nat … og mange tak for iaften
  good night … and many thanks for tonight
- 1910, Hans E. Kinck, Den sidste gjest, page 218:
  I har jo ikke eiet egen stemme førend iaften
  You have not owned your own voice until tonight
- 2014 October 17, Ringerikes Blad, page 9:
  Nes Ungdomslag arrangerer høstrevy på nes Bygdehus i aften
  Nes Ungdomslag arranges an autumn revue at Nes Bygdehus tonight
- 1911, Sigrid Undset, Jenny, page 57:
  Ahlin kjøpte et lass [blomster] til mig borte ved den spanske trappe iaftes
  Ahlin bought me a load [of flowers] over by the Spanish steps this night
- 1874, Henrik Ibsen, Peer Gynt, page 176:
  den absolute fornuft afgik ved døden iaftes klokken 11
  absolute reason departed at death tonight at 11 o'clock
- 2012 December 15, Fædrelandsvennen, page 13:
  [NN] har samlet krefter og akter å holde ut både på Klubben i aftes, og i formannsvervet til årsmøtet i februar
  [NN] has gathered strength and intentions to persevere both at the Club this evening, and in the chairmanship of the annual meeting in February
- 1855, Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter VI, page 144:
  vor vært fra igaaraftes
  our host from last night
- 2010 May 28, Morgenbladet, page 44:
  det var sikkert tusen tilskuere på Ullevål igåraftes
  there were probably a thousand spectators at Ullevål last night
- 2012 November 2, Nationen, page 8:
  brannen [brøt ut] klokken ni i går aftes
  the fire [broke out] at nine o'clock last night
- 15.11.2014, Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Samlede Digterverker III, page 13:
  ak, hvor sødt at følges ad, til paa fagre dages rad livets aften skinner!
  alas, how sweet to be followed, to on a row of days beautiful final days of life shine!
- 2014 November 15, Dagen, page 20:
  en del av anlegget forbeholdes eldre med behov for ulike omsorgstilbud og tilgang til helsetjenester i livets aften
  part of the facility is reserved for the elderly with a need for various care services and access to health services in the last parts of life
i aften ― tonight

i aftes ― earlier this night

i går aftes ― last night

livets aften ― last days of life
1. an evening (a party or gathering held in the evening)
  - 1936, Arbeiderbladet, page 5:
    Arnulf og Hildur Øverland gir aften i Folkets hus
    Arnulf and Hildur Øverland give an evening in Folkets hus
  - 1995 December 28, Aftenposten, page 23:
    på nyåret inviterer den unge kokken til en ny kulinarisk og kunstnerisk aften
    in the new year, the young chef invites you to a new culinary and artistic evening
  - 1874, Henrik Ibsen, De unges forbund, page 141:
    siden skal vi ha’e os en lystig aften
    since we're going to have a fun night
  - 1879, Henrik Ibsen, Et dukkehjem, page 148:
    hvorfor skal man ikke ta’e sig en glad aften efter en vel anvendt dag?
    why not start a happy evening after a good day?
  - 2014 March 31, Rogalands Avis, page 41:
    en lystig aften med god musikk og allsang
    a merry evening with good music and singing
(Christianity) an eve (the evening or day before a major church celebration)
holde aften ― gather guests the night before a wedding
- 1827, Søren Christian Sommerfelt, Physisk-oeconomisk beskrivelse over Saltdalen i Nordlandene, page 110:
a dinner or supper (a meal eaten in the evening; dinner eaten in the evening)
- 1874, Henrik Ibsen, De unges forbund, page 37:
  du [har] spist tungt til aften
  you [have] eaten heavily tonight
- 1890, Henrik Ibsen, Hedda Gabler, page 112:
  Løvborg har meget mere lyst til [å] spise til aftens med mig
  Løvborg has much more desire to [eat] tonight with me
- 1911, Sigrid Undset, Jenny, page 306:
  hun fik ham til at gaa med sig i teatrene og spise aftens ute
  she made him go with her to the theaters and eat out in the evening
- 1917, Gunnar Heiberg, Samlede dramatiske verker I, page 7:
  jeg skal ut og stelle til aften
  I'm going out to take care of dinner
- 1914, Sigrid Undset, Vaaren, page 209:
  efter aftens var Rose gaat ind
  after supper Rose had entered
- 2012 September 22, Halden Arbeiderblad, page 27:
  egg er vanvittig godt - både alene og tilberedt. Til frokost, til formiddagsmat, til dessert og til aftens
  eggs are insanely good - both alone and cooked. For lunch, for breakfast, for dessert and for supper
- 2015 January 27, ABC Nyheter‎^{[abcnyheter.no]}:
  det er viktig at du serverer sunn mat regelmessig, og at barnet spiser det han eller hun vil til frokost, lunsj, mellommåltider og aftens
  It is important that you serve healthy food regularly, and that the child eats what he or she wants for breakfast, lunch, snacks and supper.
Synonyms: aftensmat, aftensmåltid, kvelds, kveldsmat, kveldsmåltid

Synonyms

kveld (“evening”)

Coordinate terms

(times of day) døgnets tider; demring/daggry, soloppgang, morgen, formiddag, middag, dag, ettermiddag, solnedgang, blåtime, tussmørke, kveld/aften, midnatt, natt, ^{(Category: nb:Times of day)}

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

aften m

definite singular of afte

References

“aften” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
“aften” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Anagrams

fante, fetna

Scots

Etymology 1

From Middle English often, ofte, from Old English oft, from Proto-Germanic *ufta.

Alternative forms

af'en, affen, oaffen, oaften

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɑfən/
(Northern Isles) IPA^(key): /ˈafən/, /ˈɑ-/

Adverb

aften (comparative aftener, superlative aftenest)

often

Derived terms

aftentimes

Etymology 2

Derived from Old Norse aptann (“evening”).

Noun

aften (plural aftens)

(Shetland) evening

References

“aften”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
Eagle, Andy, editor (2024), “aften”, in The Online Scots Dictionary‎^[1]