civil twilight

noun

The period in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon in the morning and evening.

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Meanings

nouncivil twilight (countable and uncountable, plural civil twilights)

plural civil twilights

  1. countableuncountableThe period in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon in the morning and evening.

    Only the brightest stars are visible during civil twilight.

    2011, Thomas Hockey, How We See the Sky, A Naked-Eye Tour of Day and Night, page 74
    2 more examples

    The shortest civil twilights take place on the 29th of September and the 15th of March, the longest on the 21st of June; the shortest astronomical twilights fall upon the 7th of October and the 6th of March, the longest on the 21st of June

    1873, Camille Flammarion, James Glaisher, The Atmosphere, page 116

    Civil twilight, which begins or ends when the Sun's centre is 6° below the horizon.

    1990, J. Whitaker & Sons (contributor), Almanack for the Year of Our Lord 1990, page 65

Translations

Dutch burgerlijke schemering
  • burgerlijke schemeringperiod in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon
Finnish porvarillinen hämärä
  • porvarillinen hämäräperiod in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon
German bürgerliche Dämmerung
  • bürgerliche Dämmerungperiod in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon
Icelandic almannarökkur
  • almannarökkurperiod in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon
Japanese 市民薄明
  • 市民薄明 (shimin hakumei)period in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon
Korean 시민박명
  • 시민박명 (siminbangmyeong)period in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon
Russian гражданские сумерки
  • гражданские сумерки (graždanskije sumerki)period in which the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon
Cite this entry
APA

civil twilight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20twilight

MLA

“civil twilight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20twilight. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “civil twilight,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20twilight.

Source: civil twilight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.