good night
(Also hyphened.)
[See good a. 10 c.]
1. A customary phrase used at parting at night or going to sleep; † orig. in full form have good night, (God) give you good night, etc. Also in various phrases, as to bid († give) good night, to make one's good nights, etc., and in fig. uses implying separation, leave-taking, or loss.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 371 (420) Haue now good nyȝt & lat vs boþe slepe. c 1420 Sir Amadas (Weber) 187 My leve dame, have gud nyght! c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn xv. 51 The captayne gaff the goode nyght to the damoyselle. a 1553 Udall Royster D. v. vi. (Arb.) 88 Good night Roger olde knaue. 1553 Respublica v. ix. 32 Than goode night the laweiers gaine. 1570 B. Googe Pop. Kingd. iv. 58 a, They..yielding up their dronken ghostes, doe bid their mates godnight. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. i. 16 Giue you good night. 1604 Marston Malcontent ii. iv. D 2, When our beauty fades, godnight with vs. 1631 Heywood Eng. Eliz. (1641) 87 And so gave them the good-night. 1652 Bp. Hall Invis. World ii. viii, O my soul..art thou so loth to bid a cheerful good-night to this piece of myself. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxviii, Good-night, lady. 1820 Scott Monast. xx, Having wished..to all others the common good-night. 1852 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 177 And now good-night; I am off to bed. 1881 Scribner's Mag. XXII. 282/1 She promptly made her good-nights and vanished. |
| attrib. 1816 Byron Ch. Har. iii. lxxxvi, Or chirps the grasshopper one good-night carol more. 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey lxv. 377 Give me a good-night kiss. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 382 In such prelude old, such good⁓night ditty to Peleus. |
b. Phrases. (Of obscure origin.)
| 1572 J. Jones Bathes of Bath To Rdr. b ij a, Al men..greedily gape after worldly gayne, whyles in the meane tyme the members and the mynde fall into such lappes as they neuer may recouer agayne, so that then good night at Algate. 1688 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. IV. 121 Pray my Lord let's have justice, or good night Nicholas. |
2. dial. Used as an exclamation of surprise.
3. transf. Any parting salutation at night.
† Also, ? a composition improvised when going to sleep.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 343 A..sung those tunes to the ouer-schutcht huswiues that he heard the Car-men whistle, and sware they were his fancies or his good-nights. 184. Longfellow Excelsior vi, ‘Beware the awful avalanche!’ This was the peasant's last Good-night. |
4. In certain names of plants.
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cccxl. 791 Of Venice Mallowe, or Goodnight at noone..The Venice Mallow..openeth it selfe about eight of the clocke, and shutteth vp againe at nine. 1840 Paxton Bot. Dict., Good night, Argyreia bona-nox. |
Hence
goodˈnight v. to say good-night to.
| 1835 Beckford Recoll. 43 After good-nighting, and being good-nighted with another round of ceremony. |