Sunset

How to spell sunset

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce sunset

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does sunset mean?

1. nounThe time in the evening when the sun goes below the horizon, or the colourful sky that accompanies it.
2. verbTo gradually withdraw, retire, or schedule the end of a product, policy, or service.

Sunset in a sentence

• noun

  We watched the sunset from the hotel balcony.

• verb

  The company plans to sunset the older software next year.

• noun

  The flight lands just before sunset local time.

• verb

  Lawmakers agreed to sunset the temporary tax after five years.

Where does sunset come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Sunset is a transparent native compound formed from two of the oldest words in English. 'Sun' descends from the Old English 'sunne', the common Germanic name for the star at the centre of our sky, while 'set' comes from Old English 'settan', meaning 'to cause to sit' or 'to put down', the same root that gives us 'settle' and 'seat'. The pairing literally describes the moment the sun appears to seat itself below the horizon. The compound came into regular written use in the late medieval period, gradually replacing older phrases for the evening descent of the sun. In modern usage it has also taken on a figurative life: a 'sunset clause' in law or business marks the moment a rule is scheduled to expire, borrowing the image of something coming to a natural close.

How the word is built

• sun (the star)
• set (to go down, sink below the horizon)