Meanings
plural night watches · alternative night-watch · alternative nightwatch
- One or more of the guards on such a watch.
- One of the watches kept on a marine vessel.
- The sailors standing such a watch.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna watch during the night (as from midnight to 8 a.m.)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishnihtwæċċe
- Middle Englishnightwacche
- Englishnight watch
From Middle English nightwacche, nyȝt-wacche, nyghte wacche, nyȝt wacche, from Old English nihtwæċċe, a variant of nihtwacu (“nightwatch”), equivalent to night + watch. Cognate with West Frisian nachtwacht (“nightwatch”), Dutch nachtwacht, nachtwake (“nightwatch”), German Nachtwache (“nightwatch”) and Nachtwächter (“night watchman”), Swedish nattvakt (“nightwatch”), Icelandic næturvakt (“nightwatch”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian нощно дежурство, нощна стража
- нощно дежурство (noštno dežurstvo)watch kept during the night
- нощна стража (noštna straža)guards on such a watch
Catalan imaginària, imaginària
- imaginàriawatch kept during the night
- imaginàriaguards on such a watch
Czech noční hlídka, noční hlídka
- noční hlídkawatch kept during the night
- noční hlídkaguards on such a watch
Finnish yövartio, yövartio
- yövartiowatch kept during the night
- yövartioguards on such a watch
Norwegian Bokmål nattvakt
- nattvaktwatch kept during the night
Spanish imaginaria, imaginaria
- imaginariawatch kept during the night
- imaginariaguards on such a watch
Turkish gece nöbeti, gece bekçisi
- gece nöbetiwatch kept during the night
- gece bekçisiguards on such a watch
Cite this entry
night watch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/night%20watch
“night watch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/night%20watch. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “night watch,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/night%20watch.
Source: night watch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.