E"ven*ing (?), n. [AS. �xd6;fnung. See even, n., and cf. Eve.]
1.
The latter part and close of the day, and the beginning of darkness or night; properly, the decline of the day, or of the sum.
In the ascending scale
Of heaven, the stars that usher evening rose.
Milton.
⇒ Sometimes, especially in the Southern parts of the United States, the afternoon is called evening.
Bartlett.
2.
The latter portion, as of life; the declining period, as of strength or glory.
⇒ Sometimes used adjectively; as, evening gun. "Evening Prayer."
Shak.
Evening flower Bot., a genus of iridaceous plants (Hesperantha) from the Cape of Good Hope, with sword-shaped leaves, and sweet-scented flowers which expand in the evening. -- Evening grosbeak Zool., an American singing bird (Coccothraustes vespertina) having a very large bill. Its color is olivaceous, with the crown, wings, and tail black, and the under tail coverts yellow. So called because it sings in the evening. -- Evening primrose. See under Primrose. -- The evening star, the bright star of early evening in the western sky, soon passing below the horizon; specifically, the planet Venus; -- called also Vesper and Hesperus. During portions of the year, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are also evening stars. See Morning Star.
© Webster 1913.