arternoon

Noun

afternoon (plural afternoons)

1. The part of the day from noon or lunchtime until sunset, evening, or suppertime or 6pm.
   • Theſe men ſerue God in the forenoone, and the diuell in the after noone;1601, Arthur Dent, Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen, page 138
2. (figuratively) The later part of anything, often with implications of decline.
   • Buck.[…]Theſe both put by a poore petitioner
     A care-crazd mother of a many children,
     A beauty-waining and diſtreſſed widow,
     Euen in the afternoone of her beſt daies
     Made priſe and purchaſe of his luſtfull eye,
     Seduc t the pitch and height of al his thoughts,
     To baſe declenſion and loathd...c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC...
3. (informal) A party or social event held in the afternoon.

See all 4 meanings of afternoon