A period of 24 hours, a natural day; ~ natural; a daies space, a whole day; daies bred, daily bread; prime of the ~; etc.

(a) The light part of a natural day, daytime; ~ artificial; al ~ (long), the whole day, all day (long); bi ~, on ~, in daytime; (b) daies, in daytime; fer daies, late in the day.

(a) Daylight; daies light, light of ~; dauen (to) ~, to become light; (b) daybreak, dawn; spring of ~; at ~, bi ~; befor ~, er ~, or ~; fro ~; oð ~, forto ~, til ~; (c) fig. uses.

A period of time; a term, season, or age: (a) a period; for a dai, for a short time; in short ~, in a short time, shortly; given ~, to grant time; monthes ~, a month's time; in ten yer ~, within ten years; the halwende daies, the days of salvation; (b) an age or epoch; werldes dai, the age or duration of this world; bi (in, on) olde (are, forme) dawen (dawes, daies), in ancient times, in olden days, long ago; on hethene dawen, in pagan times; bi elderne dawes, in the days of our forefathers.

(a) The period or span of (someone's) life, career, or reign; lifetime, term of office, reign; lives dai, daies of lif [cp. lif-dai], lifetime; min olde daies, my old age; on (in, bi) his dai (daies, dawe(n, dawes), during his lifetime or reign; etc.; (b) don, bringen of dawe(n, to deprive (sb.) of life, put to death; -- frequ. in rime; (c) ben of dawe, to be dead.

Eccl. (a) An anniversary day commemorating a sacred event, a saint, etc.; ferial ~, festeful ~, holi dai, hali ~ [cp. hali-dai]; principal ~, an important festival day; holden ~, to observe a (holy) day; (b) al-halwen ~, All Saints' Day [see al-halwen]; ascensioun ~, q.v.; candel-masse ~, q.v.; childer-masse ~, q.v.; corpus cristi ~, q.v.; criste-masse ~, q.v.; estern ~, q.v.; (our) ladi ~, q.v.; lam-masse ~, q.v.; lordes ~, Sunday; neue-yeres ~, q.v.; (holi) rodes ~, ~ of the crois, the festival of the Exaltation of the Cross (Sept. 14); rogacioun ~, q.v.; twelfte ~, Epiphany; seint Marie ~, seint Nicolas ~, etc.

Theol. The last day (or days) of the world, judgment day; ~ of dome [see domes dai]; ~ of the lord; ~ of wreth; ~ of ayen-yiving, day of retribution; the last (latemest) ~.

A (certain) calendar day; a (certain) day (of a month).

(a) A time, day, or hour appointed or agreed upon (as for a meeting, appearance in court, a battle, or a payment); certain ~, a definite date or time; setten ~, to set a date or time; nimen ~, choose a date; holden ~, kepen ~, keep an appointment or the terms of an agreement; breken ~, failen of ~, fail to keep an appointment or to make a payment on time; taken daies, set a time or terms for payment; delay (payment); haven daies, have a delay in meeting an obligation; have a day in court; graunten daies, grant a delay; withouten ~, without a day in court, without recourse; (b) a meeting or session (as of a court, the officers of a town, or the members of a guild) held at a fixed time or upon call; general ~, gret ~, smal ~; haven dai of toun, to have the opportunity to appear at such a session, have a day in court; mannes ~, a human court.

Some special uses [largely contextual]: (a) a day spent in working, traveling, fighting, or amusement; driven the ~ awei, to spend the day; (b) a day or time of peculiar importance: a day of success or fulfillment; a day of misfortune; dying day; (c) abiden, sen the dai, to live to see the day; (d) (have) god dai!, good luck!, good-bye!; bidden god ~, say good-bye; (e) a calendar day regarded as inopportune or unlucky; ivel daies, dismal ~, males ~, perilous ~, Egipcianes ~ [q.v.]; caniculares ~, dog days; (f) an unlucky day foretold in a dream.

A perpendicular section of a mullioned window.

Phrases: (a) dai and night, day and night, all the time, constantly; -- orig. acc.; (b) daies and nightes, day and night, all the time; -- orig. gen. sg., later taken as pl.; (c) daies and yeres, many years; (d) yer and dai, a full year (esp. of tenure); (e) dai withouten ende, ever; with neg.: never.

Phrases: (a) al dai, all the time, at any time, constantly; (b) al the (a) dai, the (a) whole day, all day long; al the longe ~; (c) ech dai, every day; ech daies goune, everyday dress; ech daies wenche, a common girl; -- used disparagingly; (d) everi dai, every or any day; everi daies experience, an everyday experience; never a dai, not at any time, never; (e) mani (a) dai, many a day, for many days, for a long time; (f) ōn dai, a(n ~, sǒm ~, on an unspecified day, one day; on of these daies, one of these days; (g) this dai, today; that ~, thilke ~, on that day; this ich ~, this very day; thes other daies, that (this) other ~, the next day; the other day, recently; ?one day; this ender ~, see ender; (h) this dai, these daies, the present, these days; into (unto) this ~, to this day, till now; tofore this ~, before now; in our daies, in our times, nowadays; (i) this dai fifti wikes, fifty weeks (a year) from now; this dai seve-night, a week ago.

Prep. phrases: (a) at al dai, at all hours; at al dawes, all the time, always; at on dai, on one day; (b) bi dai and (bi) night, in daytime and at night; day and night, all the time; (c) (bi) dai ne niht, neither in daytime nor at night; not at any time, never; (d) bi (on, a) þan (þo) daȝen (dawen, daies), in (on) þilke daies, in those (bygone) days, at that time; bi daies, once upon a time; (e) dai bi dai, day after day, every day, steadily; (f) for alle daies, for all times, forever; for mani dai er, long before; (g) from dai to dai, dai fro dai, from one day to another; day after day, continuously, steadily; (h) from that dai (forward), from that day (onward); (i) in the daie, on the day (of); in one ~, one day; in ~, at any time, ever; (j) on a dai, upon a ~, on an unspecified day; one day, one of these days; (k) on (in) the other dai, on the second day; (l) on daies, a dai, in daytime; (m) on daies nou, nou a dai(es, nou bi dawe, at present, nowadays; (n) sin thilke day, since the day or time (that); (o) to dai, on this day, today, now [see to-dai]; (p) upon a dai, in one day.

Cpds. & phrases: (a) dai-belle, morning bell; ~ cercle, the rotation of days; ~ dauing, daybreak, dawn; daies-eie, eye of the day, i.e. the sun; daies-erth, ~ ardawe, [cp. erthe n.(2)], a land measure: an area plowable in one day by one team; dai-fǒul, a bird that feeds and sings in day-time; (b) daies fare, ~ gang, ~ ȝong, ~ journei, dai-gang, dai-journei, a day's journey, i.e. as far as one normally or customarily travels in one day; dai-glēm, the morning glow, dawn; ~ hete, the heat or warmth of daytime; ~ light, q.v.; ~ mǣl [OE], a sundial; ~ mēte, afternoon luncheon; ~ planete, a day planet, i.e. one that is effective in daytime; (c) dai-rēd [OE dæȝ-rǣd], dawn, daybreak; daired-sang, degred-, the eccl. office of lauds celebrated at dawn; dai-reue, -raue, -roue [cp. reue, roue row, line], the rays of dawn, dawn; ~ rim(e [OE dæȝ-rima], the rays of dawn, dawn; (d) dai-sang, the eccl. office of lauds celebrated at dawn; ~ signe, a diurnal sign of the zodiac that is effective in daytime; ~ skulker, a sneak thief; ~ spring, -springing, daies spring, daybreak, dawn; dai-sterre, q.v.; ~ thẹ̄f, one who steals in daytime; robber, bandit; also as nickname; ~ tide, the time of a natural day, 24 hours; daytime; dawn; ~ wacche, a daytime watch; daies wei, a day's journey; dai-wercāte, a land measure [see dai-werk]; dai-werk, q.v.; dai-wine, -wene [OE dæȝ-wine], a day's earnings or pay.