Pernoctation
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The action of abiding through the night at a location; (countable) an instance of this; an overnight stay. formal, uncountable
"The next morning they [Mary and Joseph] return back with ſpeed toward Jeruſalem; and at night repairing to their former lodging, neither there it ſeems heard they any thing of him [Jesus] (which argues, for this time of his abſence his pernoctation in the Temple), and ſo they muſt paſs this ſecond night alſo in great deſolation."
- 2 The action of walking about at night, especially as a vigil or watch; (countable) an instance of this. formal, uncountable
"In 1599 Sʳ Robert Leech and Sʳ John Meades were guilty of pernoctation and breaking windows. They had been sent to prison by the Proctor."
- 3 A religious watch kept during normal sleeping hours, during which prayers or other ceremonies are performed; a vigil. countable, formal, obsolete
"[I]n general the veſpers begin a little before ſunſet; the matins at four o'clock in the morning, and the liturgy or communion about nine; and when the vigil, or pernoctation, is performed, that ſervice begins after ſunſet; and there is no ſervice, in the morning following, till the communion."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The next morning they [Mary and Joseph] return back with ſpeed toward Jeruſalem; and at night repairing to their former lodging, neither there it ſeems heard they any thing of him [Jesus] (which argues, for this time of his abſence his pernoctation in the Temple), and ſo they muſt paſs this ſecond night alſo in great deſolation."
Etymology
PIE word *nókʷts Learned borrowing from Late Latin pernoctātiō (“act of spending of the night (doing something, particularly praying)”), from pernoctō (“to spend the night”) + -tiō (action noun suffix). Pernoctō is from per- (prefix with the sense of completion or entirety forming verbs) + nox (“night; darkness”). By surface analysis, pernoctate + -ion.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.