eve

name

1. Alternative spelling of Ewe.

noun

Etymology: From a variant of the Middle English noun even (itself from Old English ǣfen), with a pre-1200 loss of the terminal '-n', which was mistaken for an inflection. See also the now archaic or poetic even (“evening”), from the same source. In medieval Europe, days were considered to extend from sunset to sunset rather than midnight to midnight, so the night before a holiday was considered part of it, hence its "eve".

1. The day or night before, usually used for holidays, such as Christmas Eve.

   “She died on the eve of her 100th birthday.”

2. Evening, night.

   “on a cold winter's eve.”

   “I love to see the shaking twig / Dance till the shut of eve”

3. The period of time when something is just about to happen or to be introduced

   “the eve of a scientific discovery”