intempestum

== Latin == === Etymology === From intempestus. As a noun, from earlier use of the adjective in reference to intempesta nox (“dismal/unhealthy night”) as both a time of night and goddess. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ɪn.tɛmˈpɛs.tũː] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [in.temˈpɛs.tum] === Adjective === intempestum inflection of intempestus: nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular accusative masculine singular === Noun === intempestum n (genitive intempestī); second declension (Medieval Latin) midnight; the time around midnight. ==== Usage notes ==== In Medieval use (e.g., Bede), sometimes conceived as a particular period of night lasting from conticinium, when most animals became quiet, to gallicinium, when roosters began to crow. ==== Declension ==== Second-declension noun (neuter). === References === "Anglo-Saxon Manual of Astronomy", p. 6, in Popular Treatises on Science Written during the Middle Ages (1841), London: Historical Society of Science.