darken
/ˈdɑɹkən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.88 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[…] they [locusts] covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened […]"
- "So spake the Sovran voice, and Clouds began To darken all the Hill […]"
- "Almos is a hydrogen-helium gas giant with traces of sodium darkening its atmosphere."
- "[…] the owl and the bat flew round the darkening trees:"
- "[…] leaning at her window she watched the end of that eventful day darken over the ranges."
- "Well, I must go in now; and you too: it darkens."
Etymology
From Middle English derkenen, dirkenen, from Old English *deorcnian, *diercnian (“to darken”), from Proto-West Germanic *dirkinōn (“to darken”), equivalent to dark + -en. Cognate with Scots derken, durken (“to darken”), Old High German tarchanjan, terchinen (“to darken”), Middle High German terken, derken (“to darken”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: derkenen, *deorcnian, *dirkinōn
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɑɹkən/
- British English: /ˈdɑːkən/
Usage
Inflected Forms
darkens (present, singular)
darkening (participle, present)
darkened (participle, past)
darkened (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
darkened (first person, past)
darkenest (archaic, present)
darkened (past, second person)
darkenedst (archaic, past)
darkeneth (archaic, present)
darkened (past, singular)