"Dark Ages" meaning in All languages combined

See Dark Ages on Wiktionary

Proper name [English]

IPA: /ˈdɑːˌkeɪd͡ʒɪz/ Forms: the Dark Ages [canonical]
Etymology: The phrase appears in writing of the English Reformation by Richard Sibbes (1620) and by George Abbot (1624), the archbishop of Canterbury. Both authors use it to refer to the period of papal supremacy before the Reformation. The earliest citation in Oxford English Dictionary is dated 1687. Use is specific to English therefore not likely to be from Latin. Head templates: {{en-proper noun|def=1|head=Dark Ages}} the Dark Ages
  1. (see usage notes) The period of European history encompassing (roughly) 476–1000 CE. Synonyms: Early Middle Ages
    Sense id: en-Dark_Ages-en-name-ZshPikZE
  2. (Ancient Greece) The Greek Dark Ages (c. 1100–750 BCE). Categories (topical): Ancient Greece
    Sense id: en-Dark_Ages-en-name-8rtw6O0E Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 6 31 1 1 32 29
  3. The dark ages of Cambodia (c. 1450–1863).
    Sense id: en-Dark_Ages-en-name-eKhjh602
  4. The dark ages of Laos (c. 1707–1893).
    Sense id: en-Dark_Ages-en-name-Fk6j1iqv
  5. (astronomy) The Dark Ages, 380 thousand to about 1 billion years after the Big Bang. Categories (topical): Astronomy Synonyms (obsolete except archaic): darke ages [plural]
    Sense id: en-Dark_Ages-en-name-h4RnNy9M Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 6 31 1 1 32 29 Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences Disambiguation of 'obsolete except archaic': 14 20 6 6 33 22
  6. (figuratively) Any relatively primitive period of time. Tags: figuratively Categories (topical): Historical periods, Time Translations (historic period): اَلْعُصُورُ الْمُظْلِمَةُ (al-ʕuṣūru l-muẓlimatu) (Arabic), siècles obscurs (French), Dunkle Jahrhunderte (German), das finstere Mittelalter [neuter] (German), sötét középkor (Hungarian), tenebro-epoko (Ido), Zaman Kegelapan (Indonesian), 暗黒時代 (ankoku jidai) (alt: あんこくじだい) (Japanese), saeculum obscurum (Latin), Zaman Kelam (Malay), wieki ciemne [masculine, plural] (Polish), Idade das Trevas [feminine] (Portuguese), Na Lintean Dorcha [feminine, masculine, plural] (Scottish Gaelic), Edad Oscura [feminine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-Dark_Ages-en-name-oDuan83e Disambiguation of Historical periods: 10 20 2 2 23 43 Disambiguation of Time: 4 5 2 2 10 77 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 6 31 1 1 32 29 Disambiguation of 'historic period': 19 3 2 2 5 69
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: Dark Age [singular], dark Ages [plural], dark ages [plural]

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for Dark Ages meaning in All languages combined (7.9kB)

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  "etymology_text": "The phrase appears in writing of the English Reformation by Richard Sibbes (1620) and by George Abbot (1624), the archbishop of Canterbury. Both authors use it to refer to the period of papal supremacy before the Reformation. The earliest citation in Oxford English Dictionary is dated 1687. Use is specific to English therefore not likely to be from Latin.",
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          "ref": "2001 December 29, Gene Wolfe, “The Best Introduction to the Mountains”, in David Pringle, editor, Interzone, number 174, →ISSN, page 49",
          "text": "There is one very real sense in which the Dark Ages were the brightest of times, and it is this: that they were times of defined and definite duties and freedoms.",
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      "glosses": [
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        "(astronomy) The Dark Ages, 380 thousand to about 1 billion years after the Big Bang."
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "14 20 6 6 33 22",
          "sense": "obsolete except archaic",
          "tags": [
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          "word": "darke ages"
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          "_dis": "10 20 2 2 23 43",
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        {
          "_dis": "4 5 2 2 10 77",
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        {
          "ref": "1992, Steven Davis, Connectionism: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, page 84",
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          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2000 March 6, Network World, volume 17, number 10, page 49",
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        {
          "ref": "2001, Lawrence Lessig, The future of ideas: the fate of the commons in a connected world, archived from the original on 2013-03-29, page 104",
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          "ref": "2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Angara: Lost Colony Worlds Codex entry",
          "text": "The Scourge disaster sent angaran civilization into a dark age. Records of their golden era of technological advancement and proliferation through space only survived as oral history, making it difficult to separate truth from legend. Nevertheless, angara believe they had colonized numerous planets across the cluster before the Scourge's devastation left them cut off from each other for centuries.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 June 14, Taylor Swift, Joel Little (lyrics and music), “You Need to Calm Down”, in Lover, performed by Taylor Swift",
          "text": "Sunshine on the street at the parade / But you would rather be in the dark ages / Making that sign / Must've taken all night",
          "type": "quotation"
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      "translations": [
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          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "al-ʕuṣūru l-muẓlimatu",
          "sense": "historic period",
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        },
        {
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          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "siècles obscurs"
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        {
          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "Dunkle Jahrhunderte"
        },
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        },
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          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "sötét középkor"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "io",
          "lang": "Ido",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "tenebro-epoko"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "Zaman Kegelapan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "alt": "あんこくじだい",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "ankoku jidai",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "暗黒時代"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "saeculum obscurum"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "historic period",
          "word": "Zaman Kelam"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "19 3 2 2 5 69",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "historic period",
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        },
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          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "historic period",
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          "sense": "historic period",
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          "word": "Edad Oscura"
        }
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  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɑːˌkeɪd͡ʒɪz/"
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      "_dis1": "3 41 2 3 42 9",
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        "singular"
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      "_dis1": "3 41 2 3 42 9",
      "tags": [
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      "word": "dark ages"
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  ],
  "word": "Dark Ages"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English multiword terms",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
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  "etymology_text": "The phrase appears in writing of the English Reformation by Richard Sibbes (1620) and by George Abbot (1624), the archbishop of Canterbury. Both authors use it to refer to the period of papal supremacy before the Reformation. The earliest citation in Oxford English Dictionary is dated 1687. Use is specific to English therefore not likely to be from Latin.",
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          "ref": "2001 December 29, Gene Wolfe, “The Best Introduction to the Mountains”, in David Pringle, editor, Interzone, number 174, →ISSN, page 49",
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    {
      "glosses": [
        "The dark ages of Laos (c. 1707–1893)."
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    {
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        "The Dark Ages, 380 thousand to about 1 billion years after the Big Bang."
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          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2000 March 6, Network World, volume 17, number 10, page 49",
          "text": "Yes, DSL is a better, faster and less expensive way to access the Internet. Unfortunately, it's saddled with back-office systems that belong in the Dark Ages and politics that may require regulatory oversight.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, Lawrence Lessig, The future of ideas: the fate of the commons in a connected world, archived from the original on 2013-03-29, page 104",
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          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Angara: Lost Colony Worlds Codex entry",
          "text": "The Scourge disaster sent angaran civilization into a dark age. Records of their golden era of technological advancement and proliferation through space only survived as oral history, making it difficult to separate truth from legend. Nevertheless, angara believe they had colonized numerous planets across the cluster before the Scourge's devastation left them cut off from each other for centuries.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 June 14, Taylor Swift, Joel Little (lyrics and music), “You Need to Calm Down”, in Lover, performed by Taylor Swift",
          "text": "Sunshine on the street at the parade / But you would rather be in the dark ages / Making that sign / Must've taken all night",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
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      "glosses": [
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      ],
      "links": [
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        "(figuratively) Any relatively primitive period of time."
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      "word": "Dark Age"
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    {
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      "word": "dark Ages"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "dark ages"
    },
    {
      "sense": "obsolete except archaic",
      "tags": [
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      ],
      "word": "darke ages"
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "al-ʕuṣūru l-muẓlimatu",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "اَلْعُصُورُ الْمُظْلِمَةُ"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "siècles obscurs"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "Dunkle Jahrhunderte"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "das finstere Mittelalter"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "sötét középkor"
    },
    {
      "code": "io",
      "lang": "Ido",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "tenebro-epoko"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "Zaman Kegelapan"
    },
    {
      "alt": "あんこくじだい",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "ankoku jidai",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "暗黒時代"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "saeculum obscurum"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "word": "Zaman Kelam"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "wieki ciemne"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Idade das Trevas"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "Na Lintean Dorcha"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "historic period",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Edad Oscura"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Dark Ages"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.