darkness

English

Alternative forms

• darckness (obsolete)
• darkeness (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English derknesse, from Old English deorcnes; equivalent to dark +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdɑːknəs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdɑɹknɪs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)knɪs, -ɑː(ɹ)knəs
• Hyphenation: dark‧ness

Noun

darkness (countable and uncountable, plural darknesses)

1. (uncountable) The state of being dark; lack of light.

   The darkness of the room made it difficult to see.

   • 1912, Willa Cather, The Bohemian Girl

     Over everything was darkness and thick silence, and the smell of dust and sunflowers.

   • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, Nobody, chapter III:

     Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.

2. (uncountable) Gloom.
3. (countable) The product of being dark.
4. (uncountable) The state or quality of reflecting little light, of tending to a blackish or brownish color.

   The darkness of her skin betrayed her Mediterranean heritage.

5. (uncountable) Evilness, lack of understanding or compassion, reference to death or suffering.

Antonyms

• lightness

Derived terms

• semi-darkness, semidarkness

Translations

state of being dark

• Abkhaz: алашьцара (ālāš̍cārā)
• Albanian: terr (sq) m, errësirë (sq) f, mugëtirë (sq) f
• Arabic: ظَلَام‎ m (ẓalām), ظُلْمَة‎ f (ẓulma)
• Armenian: խավար (hy) (xavar), մթություն (hy) (mtʿutʿyun)
• Aromanian: ãntunearic, ntunearic n, scutidi f
• Asturian: escuridá f
• Azerbaijani: qaranlıq (az)
• Belarusian: це́мра f (cjémra), змрок m (zmrok)
• Bulgarian: мрак (bg) m (mrak), тъмнина (bg) f (tǎmnina)
• Catalan: foscor (ca) f
• Central Atlas Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵍⵍⴰⵙⵜ f (tallast)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黑暗 (zh) (hēi'àn)

• Czech: tma (cs) f, temnota (cs) f
• Danish: mørke (da) (1, 2)
• Dutch: duisternis (nl) f, donkerheid f
• Egyptian: (kkw m), (wḫ m), (snkt f)
• Esperanto: mallumo
• Estonian: pimedus
• Ewe: viviti
• Finnish: pimeys (fi) (1), synkkyys (fi) (2)
• French: obscurité (fr) f, ténèbres (fr) f pl, (dated) sombreur (fr), noirceur (fr) f
• Galician: escuridade (gl) f, tebras (gl) f pl
• Georgian: სიბნელე (sibnele), წყვდიადი (c̣q̇vdiadi), უკუნეთი (uḳuneti)
• German: Dunkelheit (de) f, Finsternis (de) f
• Greek: σκοτάδι (el) n (skotádi), έρεβος (el) n (érevos), ζόφος (el) m (zófos)

  Ancient: σκότος m, n (skótos)

• Hebrew: חשיכה‎ f (khashekha)
• Hindi: अंधेरा (hi) m (andherā), अन्धेरा (hi) m (andherā)
• Hungarian: sötétség (hu)
• Hunsrik: tunkelheet
• Icelandic: myrkur (is) n, dimma (is) f, nifl (is) n, ljósleysa f
• Ido: tenebro (io)
• Indonesian: kegelapan (id)
• Istriot: tienabre
• Italian: oscurità (it) f, tenebre (it) f pl
• Japanese: 闇 (ja) (やみ, yami), 暗黒 (ja) (あんこく, ankoku)
• Javanese: pepeteng
• Kazakh: қараңғылық (kk) (qarañğılıq)
• Khmer: ភាពងងឹត (pʰiep ŋɔŋɨt)
• Korean: 암흑 (ko) (amheuk) (暗黑 (ko)), 어두움 (어둠) (eoduum (eodum))
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: تاریکی‎ (ku) (tAreekee)

• Latgalian: timss m, tymsums m
• Latin: tenebrae (la) f pl, caligo f, obscuritas f, nox (la)

• Latvian: tumsa f
• Lithuanian: tamsa (lt) f
• Luxembourgish: Däischtert (lb) f, Donkelheet (lb) f
• Macedonian: темнина f (temnina), мрак m (mrak)
• Malagasy: ny maìzina (mg)
• Maltese: dlam
• Maori: hinapouri, taipouri, whēuriuri
• Marathi: अंधार (andhār)
• Mwani: kisi
• Navajo: chahałheeł
• Ngazidja Comorian: hidza class 7
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mørke n

  Nynorsk: mørker n, mørke n

• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: тьма f (tĭma)

• Persian: تیرگی‎ (fa) (tiregi), تاریکی‎ (fa) (târiki)
• Polish: ciemność (pl) f, mrok (pl) m
• Portuguese: escuridão (pt) f, trevas (pt) f pl
• Quechua: laqha
• Romagnol: bur
• Romanian: întuneric (ro), întunecime (ro) f
• Russian: темнота́ (ru) f (temnotá), тьма (ru) f (tʹma), мрак (ru) m (mrak), потёмки (ru) f pl (potjómki)
• Scottish Gaelic: dubhar m, dorchadas m, dubh (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: тама f

  Roman: tama (sh) f, tamnoća, mračnina, mračnost (sh)

• Slovak: tma (sk) f, temnota f
• Slovene: tema (sl) f
• Spanish: oscuridad (es) f
• Sumerian: asbu, etutu
• Swedish: mörker (sv) n
• Tagalog: kadiliman
• Tamil: இருள் (ta) (iruḷ)
• Telugu: చీకటి (te) (cīkaṭi), అంధకారము (te) (andhakāramu)
• Thai: ความมืด (th) (kwaam mêut)
• Tok Pisin: tudak
• Turkish: karanlık (tr)
• Ukrainian: темря́ва (uk) f (temrjáva), тьма f (tʹma), мо́рок m (mórok), темнота́ f (temnotá)
• Urdu: اندھیرا‎ m (andherā)
• Vietnamese: bóng tối
• Welsh: tywyllwch (cy)
• West Frisian: tsjusternis
• Yoruba: okunkun

gloom

• Catalan: tenebres (ca) f pl
• Dutch: schemering (nl) f
• Esperanto: tenebro (eo)
• French: noirceur (fr), (dated) sombreur (fr)

• Italian: buio (it) m
• Portuguese: trevas (pt) f pl
• Romanian: întristare (ro) f, tristețe (ro) f

the product of being dark

• French: ténèbres (fr) f pl, noirceur (fr) f

• Scottish Gaelic: dubh (gd) m

state of reflecting little light; tending to blackish or brownish

• Catalan: negror f
• French: noirceur (fr), (dated) sombreur (fr)
• Galician: negror m
• Italian: scuro (it) m

• Portuguese: escuro (pt)
• Romanian: negreală (ro) f
• Scottish Gaelic: dubhar m, dorchadas m, dubh (gd) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} malhelo

Anagrams

• Danskers