Definition of day:

• The variable length of the natural day at different seasons led in the very earliest times to the adoption of the civil day ( or one revolution of the sun) as a standard of time. The Hebrews reckoned the day from evening to evening, ( Leviticus 23:32 ) deriving it from ( Genesis 1:5 ) " the evening and the morning were the first day." The Jews are supposed, like the modern Arabs, to have adopted from an early period minute specifications of the parts of the natural day. Roughly, indeed, they were content to divide it into " morning, evening and noonday," ( Psalms 55:17 ) but when they wished for greater accuracy they pointed to six unequal parts, each of which was again subdivided. These are held to have been -- 1. " the dawn." 2. " Sunrise." 3. " Heat of the day," about 9 oclock. 4. " The two noons," ( Genesis 43:16 ; 28:29 ) 5. " The cool ( lit. wind ) of the day," before sunset, ( Genesis 3:8 ) -- so called by the Persians to this day. 6. " Evening." Before the captivity the Jews divided the night into three watches, ( Psalms 63:6 ; 90:4 ) viz. the first watch, lasting till midnight, ( Lamentations 2:19 ) the " middle watch," lasting till cockcrow, ( Judges 7:19 ) and the " morning watch," lasting till sunrise. ( Exodus 14:24 ) In the New Testament we have allusions to four watches, a division borrowed from the Greeks and Romans. These were -- 7. From twilight till 9 o/clock, ( Mark 11:11 ; John 20:19 ) 8. Midnight, from 9 till 12 oclock, ( Mark 13:35 ) 3 Macc 5:23. 9. Till daybreak. ( John 18:28 ) The word held to mean " hour" is first found in ( Daniel 3:6 Daniel 3:15 ; 5:5 ) Perhaps the Jews, like the Greeks, learned from the Babylonians the division of the day into twelve parts. In our Lords time the division was common. ( John 11:9 )
• The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset ( Leviticus 23:32 ). It was originally divided into three parts ( Psalms 55:17 ). " The heat of the day" ( 1 Samuel 11:11 ; Nehemiah 7:3 ) was at our nine o'clock, and " the cool of the day" just before sunset ( Genesis 3:8 ). Before the Captivity the Jews divided the night into three watches, ( 1) from sunset to midnight ( Lamentations 2:19 ); ( 2) from midnight till the cock-crowing ( Judges 7:19 ); and ( 3) from the cock-crowing till sunrise ( Exodus 14:24 ). In the New Testament the division of the Greeks and Romans into four watches was adopted ( Mark 13:35 ). ( See WATCHES .) The division of the day by hours is first mentioned in Daniel 3:6 Daniel 3:15 ; 4:19 ; 5:5 . This mode of reckoning was borrowed from the Chaldeans. The reckoning of twelve hours was from sunrise to sunset, and accordingly the hours were of variable length ( John 11:9 ). The word " day" sometimes signifies an indefinite time ( Genesis 2:4 ; Isaiah 22:5 ; Hebrews 3:8 , etc.). In Job 3:1 it denotes a birthday, and in Isaiah 2:12 , Acts 17:31 , and 2 Timothy 1:18 , the great day of final judgment.
• a period of opportunity; " he deserves his day in court"; " every dog has his day"
• some point or period in time; " it should arrive any day now"; " after that day she never trusted him again"; " those were the days"; " these days it is not unusual"
• the recurring hours when you are not sleeping ( especially those when you are working); " my day began early this morning"; " it was a busy day on the stock exchange"; " she called it a day and went to bed"
• time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis; " two days later they left"; " they put on two performances every day"; " there are 30, 000 passengers per day"
• a day assigned to a particular purpose or observance; " Mother's Day"
• the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside; " the dawn turned night into day"; " it is easier to make the repairs in the daytime"
• the time for one complete rotation of the earth relative to a particular star, about 4 minutes shorter than a mean solar day
• the period of time taken by a particular planet ( e. g. Mars) to make a complete rotation on its axis; " how long is a day on Jupiter?"
• The time of light, or interval between one night and the next; the time between sunrise and sunset, or from dawn to darkness; hence, the light; sunshine.
• The period of the earth's revolution on its axis. -- ordinarily divided into twenty- four hours. It is measured by the interval between two successive transits of a celestial body over the same meridian, and takes a specific name from that of the body. Thus, if this is the sun, the day ( the interval between two successive transits of the sun's center over the same meridian) is called a solar day; if it is a star, a sidereal day; if it is the moon, a lunar day. See Civil day, Sidereal day, below.
• Those hours, or the daily recurring period, allotted by usage or law for work.
• A specified time or period; time, considered with reference to the existence or prominence of a person or thing; age; time.
• The period of light between sunrise and sunset; daylight; sunshine; the period of twenty- four hours, reckoning from midnight to midnight ( the civil day), or from noon to noon ( the astronomical day); in the east, a distance that can be traveled in twenty- four hours; a specified time or period; as, the day of chivalry; the number of hours allowed by law or custom for work; as, printers work an eight- hour day.
• The time of light: the time from morning till night: twenty- four hours, the time the earth takes to make a revolution on her axis; also credit: a distant day being fixed for payment.
• Time from sunrise to sunset; the 24 hours from midnight to midnight.
• The period of daylight.
• The twenty- four hours from midnight to midnight.
• A period; an age; a battle, or its result.
• The time of light from sunrise to sunset, called the artificial day; the space of twenty- four hours, commencing with us at twelve o'clock midnight, called the civil day; the period of twenty- four hours, less four minutes, in which the earth makes one complete revolution on its axis, called the siderial day; the interval between the sun being in the meridian, and his return to it, called the solar day; the daylight; the contest of a day; any period of time distinguished from other time; an appointed or fixed time; time of commemorating an event. Day by day, daily: each day in succession. To- day, this day; at present. To win the day, to gain the victory. Day of grace, the time when mercy is offered to sinners. Days of grace, days granted by the court for delay, at the prayer of the plaintiff or defendant. Days of grace, a customary number of days allowed for the payment of a note or bill of exchange, after it becomes due. Day- rule or writ, certificate of permission which the court gives to a prisoner to go beyond the bounds of the prison for the purpose of transacting his business. Day- ticket, a railway or steamboat pass, available for return on the same day. Day in court, a day for the appearance of parties in court. Days in bank, days of appearance in the court of common bench.

Usage examples for day

1. I went home, and thought about you all day long."  Wife in Name Only by Charlotte M. Braeme (Bertha M. Clay)

2. But Andy's there to- day.  Molly Brown's Junior Days by Nell Speed

3. Such a house as it is to- day!  A London Life; The Patagonia; The Liar; Mrs. Temperly by Henry James

4. I won't tell you why; but not to- day.  Father Stafford by Anthony Hope