dusken

English

Etymology

dusk +‎ -en

Verb

dusken (third-person singular simple present duskens, present participle duskening, simple past and past participle duskened)

1. (transitive) To make dusky or obscure.
   • (Can we date this quote?), James Joyce, “From a Banned Writer to a Banned Singer”, in The Complete Works of James Joyce‎^[1], published 2016:

     It was last seen and heard of by some macgillic-cuddies above a lonely valley of their reeks, duskening the greylight as it flew, its cry echechohoing among the anfractuosities: pour la dernière fois,' The blackbulled ones, stampeding, drew in their horns, all appailed and much upset, which explaints the guttermilk on their overcoats.

   • 1906, George Banghart Henry Swayze, Yarb and Cretine‎^[2], page 123:

     Twilight began to dusken the quiet of the house.
2. (intransitive) To grow or become dusky.
   • 1801, Henry James Pye, Alfred:

     Noble you must be: noble too am I / If true the tale that Danewulf loves to tell / When twilight duskens round the crackling logs

   • 1945, Grace Livingston Hill, All Through the Night‎^[3]:

     He vanished so quickly that she looked down the duskening street in vain to see a stalwart officer, whom she had fully intended to accompany on his way to get a little better acquainted with him.

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• desken, duskyn, deskyn, doskin

Etymology

From Old English doxian; equivalent to dosk +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɔskən/, /ˈduskən/, /ˈdɛskən/

Verb

dusken (rare)

1. To become or make dark or dusky.

Conjugation

Conjugation of dusken (weak)

infinitive	(to) dusken
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	duske	duskede
2nd person singular	duskest	duskedest
3rd person singular	duskeþ, dusketh	duskede
plural	dusken	duskeden
subjunctive	present	past
singular	duske	duskede
plural	dusken	duskeden
imperative	present
singular	duske
plural	duskeþ, dusketh
participle	present	past
	duskende, duskinge	dusked, ydusked

Descendants

• English: dusk

References

• “dusken (v.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-1-10.