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moonlight

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 7 January 2026
Moonlight (noun sense 1) reflected in the Upper Patuxent River in Maryland, U.S.A.

Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-?
Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s
Proto-Germanic *mēnô
Proto-West Germanic *mānō
Old English mōna
Middle English mone
Proto-Indo-European *lewk-der.
Proto-Germanic *leuhtaz
Proto-West Germanic *leuht
Old English lēoht
Middle English light
Middle English moonelight
English moonlight

    The noun is derived from Middle English moonelight, monelight, mone lyght (“light of the moon; (heraldry) pattern of moons on the field of a heraldic banner”),[1] from mon, mone (“moon”) (from Old English mōna (“moon”),[2] ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon; month”)) + light (“light”)[3] (from Old English lēoht (“light”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)). By surface analysis, moon +‎ light.[4]

    The verb is derived from the noun. Verb sense 1.1 (“to secretly leave premises without paying the rent”) is a back-formation from moonlight flit, while verb sense 1.2 (“to make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer”) is probably a back-formation from moonlighter.[5]

    cognates

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    moonlight (usually uncountable, plural moonlights)

    2. (uncountable, also attributive) The light reflected from the Moon, which seems to emanate from it.
      Synonym: moonshine
      Hypernyms: natural light < light < EMR, electromagnetic radiation < radiation < energy
      Meronym: moonbeam
      Coordinate terms: sunlight, daylight, starlight
    3. (uncountable, archaic) The silvery colour of the light reflected by the Moon.
    4. (uncountable, UK, dialectal, archaic) Synonym of moonshine (“illegally produced or smuggled spirits”).
    5. (countable, informal) Chiefly in to do a moonlight: short for moonlight flit (“an act of secretly leaving premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon; hence, any act of escaping at night”).
    6. (countable, obsolete)
      1. (art) A picture of a scene illuminated by light reflected by the Moon.
      2. (US, rare) A journey made at night when the Moon is shining.
      3. (US, university slang) An oratorical competition; also, a participant in such a competition.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Verb

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    moonlight (third-person singular simple present moonlights, present participle moonlighting, simple past and past participle moonlighted)

    1. (intransitive)
      2. (informal) To do a moonlight flit: to secretly leave premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon.
        Hypernym: (UK, slang) do a bunk
      4. (Ireland, historical) To make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League.
      6. (originally US, informal) To do work for pay (sometimes illegally, secretly, or without paying income tax on the earnings) which is in addition to a main job, often in the evening or at night.
        1. To engage in an activity other than what one is known for.
        2. Of a thing: to perform a secondary function substantially different from a supposed primary function.
          Some proteins have a primary function of acting as enzymes, but moonlight by carrying out secondary roles such as signal transduction or transcriptional regulation.
    2. (transitive, Ireland, historical, passive voice) Of a tenant farmer: to be attacked for not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League.

    Usage notes

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    Regarding verb sense 1.3 (“to do work for pay which is in addition to a main job”), in US English the word means simply to work at secondary employment.[6][7] In UK English, it sometimes used to imply doing undeclared work (that is, work for which income tax was not paid on the extra money earned),[8][9] but more recent editions of some UK dictionaries no longer differentiate between the two meanings.[10] In this case, adjectives would be used to qualify the legality of the moonlighting.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    References

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    1. ^ “mọ̄ne-light, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
    2. ^ “mọ̄n(e, n.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
    3. ^ “light, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
    4. ^ “moonlight, n. and adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2025; “moonlight, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
    5. ^ “moonlight, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025; “moonlight, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
    6. ^ Frederick C. Mish, editor (1993), “moonlight vi”, in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, →ISBN, page 755, column 2: “to hold a second job in addition to a regular one”.
    7. ^ “moonlight, v.”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
    8. ^ See, for example, “moonlight, v.”, in Collins English Dictionary.
    9. ^ Diana Treffy, editor (1999), “moonlight vb”, in Collins English Paperback Dictionary, 4th edition, Glasgow: Collins, published 2001, →ISBN, page 526, column 2: “to work at a secondary job, esp. illegally.”
    10. ^ See, for example, “moonlight, v.”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.

    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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