sunset English · revision 10370

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1390}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsʌnˌsɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English sonne set, from [[sun]] and [[set]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) perhaps a shortening of sun-setting, or taken from a subjunctive clause such as before the sun set.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Old English had sunnansetlgang for sunset, while its sunset meant west.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The apparent descent of the sun below the horizon in the evening: 1390, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figurative use, decline or close, as of a life or period of prosperity, is from about 1600 (1592).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''To ride off into the sunset'', from the stereotypical ending of westerns, is from 1963–67.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In North American politics, sunset legislation, which ends a programme automatically unless renewed, is from 1976,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) and the verb, to decline or to terminate, is North American.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1390 – sunset.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1592 – decline (figurative).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1963 – ride off into the sunset.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1976 – sunset legislation.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon, or the time when it happens.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The colours of the sky at this time.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A final stage or decline: ''the sunset of his career''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Providing for a government programme or agency to end automatically unless renewed by law.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sunset law]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sunrise]]

+ * [[sundown]]

+ * [[dusk]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}