moonlight

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moonlight

/ˈmuːnlaɪt/ UK
/ˈmunˌlaɪt/ US

Where it comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English moonelight, monelight, mone lyght (“light of the moon; (heraldry) pattern of moons on the field of a heraldic banner”), from mon, mone (“moon”) (from Old English mōna (“moon”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon; month”)) + light (“light”) (from Old English lēoht (“light”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)). By surface analysis, moon + light.

The verb is derived from the noun. Verb sense 1.1 (“to secretly leave premises without paying the rent”) is a back-formation from moonlight flit, while verb sense 1.2 (“to make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer”) is probably a back-formation from moonlighter.

cognates

* Dutch maanlicht

* German Mondlicht

* Scots muinlicht, munelicht

* West Frisian moanneljocht

noun moonlights

also, attributive, uncountable, usually The light reflected from the Moon, which seems to emanate from it. Meronym: moonbeam
Similar: moonshine
archaic, uncountable, usually The silvery colour of the light reflected by the Moon.
UK, archaic, dialectal, uncountable, usually Synonym of moonshine (“illegally produced or smuggled spirits”). Barter'd for game from chace or warren won, / Yon cask holds moonlight, run when moon was none; / And late-snatch'd spoils lie stow'd in hutch apart, / To wait the associate higgler's evening cart.
Similar: moonshine
countable, informal, usually Chiefly in to do a moonlight: short for moonlight flit (“an act of secretly leaving premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon; hence, any act of escaping at night”).
countable, obsolete, uncountable, usually A picture of a scene illuminated by light reflected by the Moon.
US, countable, obsolete, rare, uncountable, usually A journey or event made at night when the Moon is shining.

verb moonlights · moonlighting · moonlighted

informal, intransitive To do a moonlight flit: to secretly leave premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon.
Ireland, historical, intransitive To make a night-time attack on a tenant farmer not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League.
informal, intransitive To do work for pay (sometimes illegally, secretly, or without paying income tax on the earnings) which is in addition to a main job, often in the evening or at night. There are three individual rear seats. They all slide, they all fold, or they can all be removed completely, so that you can moonlight as a van.
informal, intransitive To engage in an activity other than what one is known for. Mr. [Jeffrey] Katzenberg, who moonlights as a top [Joe] Biden official and has worked with Mr. [George] Clooney on philanthropy for decades, reached out to him to see if there was an off-ramp, according to three people familiar with the matter.
informal, intransitive Of a thing: to perform a secondary function substantially different from a supposed primary function. Some proteins have a primary function of acting as enzymes, but moonlight by carrying out secondary roles such as signal transduction or transcriptional regulation.
Ireland, historical, transitive Of a tenant farmer: to be attacked for not supporting the policies of the Irish National Land League.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: moon, moonshine, lunar, light, bath, lune, nightglow, moonbeams, moonglow, silverlight, noctilucence, moon-light, moon-shine, moonbeam, moonglade, moonbath

Translations

Every language

noun light reflected from the Moon

Español	claro de luna, lunada, luz de luna
한국어	달빛 dalbit, 월광 wolgwang, 월색 wolsaek
日本語	月光 gekkō, 月色 gesshoku, 月明かり tsukiakari, 月の光 tsuki no hikari
中文	月光 yuèguāng, 月色 yuèsè
हिन्दी	चाँदनी cā̃dnī, चंद्रिका candrikā, चन्द्रिका candrikā, ज्योत्स्ना jyotsnā, कौमुदी kaumudī, चंद्रप्रभा candraprabhā
Português	luar
Français	clair de lune
Deutsch	Mondlicht, Mondenschein, Mondschein
Italiano	chiaro di luna
Ελληνικά	σεληνόφως selinófos
Română	clar de lună, lumină de lună
Русский	лу́нное сия́ние lúnnoje sijánije, лу́нный свет lúnnyj svet
Tiếng Việt	ánh trăng
العربية	ضَوْء قَمَر ḍawʔ qamar

verb (intransitive) to do work for pay which is in addition to a main job

Español	dobletear, pluriemplearse, estar pluriempleado, ser pluriempleado, hacer chambismo
Português	fazer bico
Français	avoir une double casquette, cumuler, travailler au noir
Deutsch	eine Nebenbeschäftigung ausüben, nebenher noch schwarz arbeiten, schwarzarbeiten
Italiano	lavorare in nero
Русский	подраба́тывать podrabátyvatʹ, шаба́шничать šabášničatʹ, халту́рить xaltúritʹ
Tiếng Việt	ăn mảnh

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Cite this

MLA

"moonlight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/moonlight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

moonlight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/moonlight

Chicago

"moonlight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/moonlight.

BibTeX

@misc{moonlight_2026,
  title = {moonlight},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/moonlight},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}