bedtimen.
/ˈbɛdtʌɪm/, U.S. /ˈbɛdˌtaɪm/ 1. The hour or time for going to bed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > day and night > night > [noun] > bedtime
bedtimea1250
night lying?1456
sleeping time?1456
sleepy-time1862
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > bed related to sleep or rest > [noun] > bedtime or time spent in bed
bedtimea1250
sleepy-time1862
lie-in1867
lie1930
sack time1944
a1250 Owl & Nightingale 324 Ich singe an eve..And soththe won hit is bed-time.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 34 What daunces shall wee haue..betweene Or after supper, & bed-time ? View more context for this quotation
1743 J. Wesley Jrnl. (1749) 62 The Lord's prayer, which they were made say at rising and bed-time.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxvii. 406 Master opens it, and reads the label, ‘Draught to be taken at bedtime’.
2. figurative. = ‘hour of death’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun] > time of
death dayeOE
end-dayOE
ending-daya1300
last dayc1330
bedtime1870
1870 H. Alford Let. Oct. in Life, Jrnls. & Lett. (1873) xi. 457 I only hope the Master's work may be got done by bedtime.
Compounds
bedtime story n. a story told (to a child) at bedtime; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > types of narrative or story generally > [noun] > story told at bedtime
bedtime story1894
1894 S. Fiske Jack's Partner iv. §iii. 80 Rose had suggested this partnership to John during a bed-time conference.
1899 ( (title) , Blackie & Son) Bedtime Stories, a picture-book for little folk.
1926 A. Huxley Jesting Pilate iii. 254 Racing results and bed-time stories.
1940 A. Hocking Wicked Flee viii. 173 If we come to the conclusion that it's all just a bedtime story, you're left to assume that Lavinia is unhinged.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.a1250