dawning
Dawning (noun) means the very beginning or first signs of something starting to happen or be understood. Example: “The invention of the printing press marked the dawning of a new age of information.”
How to use dawning
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe early start of something significant, often used figuratively rather than literally about sunrise.
Word forms
- Plural
- dawnings
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The invention of the printing press marked the _____ of a new age of information.
Etymology
It goes back to Middle English dawnynge, an altered form of dawing shaped by the influence of North Germanic cognates (compare Swedish and Danish dagning). See daw ("to dawn").