The part of the day from around 12:00 p.m. (noon) until early evening. It is the time after midday but before night.
From *after* + *noon*, literally “the time after midday.” It has been used in English since the Middle Ages to mark this daily period.
‘Afternoon’ is just ‘after-noon,’ which makes the word feel almost too obvious once you notice it. Many languages build day parts the same way—by anchoring them to a key moment like sunrise, noon, or sunset.
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