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Moonlight

//ˈmuːnlaɪt// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun

1
The light reflected from the Moon, which seems to emanate from it. also, attributive, uncountable, usually
"Meronym: moonbeam"
2
the light of the Moon wordnet
3
The silvery colour of the light reflected by the Moon. archaic, uncountable, usually
4
Synonym of moonshine (“illegally produced or smuggled spirits”). UK, archaic, dialectal, uncountable, usually
"Barter'd for game from chace or warren won, / Yon cask holds moonlight, run when moon was none; / And late-snatch'd spoils lie stow'd in hutch apart, / To wait the associate higgler's evening cart."
5
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”). countable, informal, usually

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6
A picture of a scene illuminated by light reflected by the Moon. countable, obsolete, uncountable, usually
7
A journey made at night when the Moon is shining. US, countable, obsolete, rare, uncountable, usually
8
An oratorical competition; also, a participant in such a competition. US, countable, obsolete, uncountable, usually

Verb

1
To do a moonlight flit: to secretly leave premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon. informal, intransitive
2
work a second job, usually after hours wordnet
3
To make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League. Ireland, historical, intransitive
4
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. informal, intransitive
"There are three individual rear seats. They all slide, they all fold, or they can all be removed completely, so that you can moonlight as a van."
5
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.; To engage in an activity other than what one is known for. informal, intransitive
"Mr. [Jeffrey] Katzenberg, who moonlights as a top [Joe] Biden official and has worked with Mr. [George] Clooney on philanthropy for decades, reached out to him to see if there was an off-ramp, according to three people familiar with the matter."

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6
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.; Of a thing: to perform a secondary function substantially different from a supposed primary function. informal, intransitive
"Some proteins have a primary function of acting as enzymes, but moonlight by carrying out secondary roles such as signal transduction or transcriptional regulation."
7
(Of a tenant farmer) to be attacked for not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League. Ireland, historical, transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”), from mon, mone (“moon”) (from Old English mōna (“moon”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon; month”)) + light (“light”) (from Old English lēoht (“light”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)). By surface analysis, moon + light. 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. cognates * Dutch maanlicht * German Mondlicht * Scots muinlicht, munelicht * West Frisian moanneljocht

Etymology 2

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