mirken

Etymology

From Middle English mirkenen, merknen, from Old Norse myrkna (“to darken”). Cognate with Icelandic myrkna (“to darken”), Swedish mörkna (“to get dark, darken”), Danish mørkne (“to darken”), equivalent to mirk + -en. More at murk.

mirken means To grow dark. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 77 out of 100.

Why this word is great

MIRKEN — [Verb] To grow dark or become dark. From Middle English mirkenen, merknen, from Old Norse myrkna ("to darken"), equivalent to the obsolete English mirk ("darkness") + the verbal suffix -en. Unlike "darken," a utilitarian verb for any dimming, or "obscure," which aims to conceal, to mirken is to attend to the process of pure diminishment, the slow leaching of luminance. It is the moment the last cobalt bleeds from a twilight sky, the gradual pooling of shadow in a room as the fire dies, and the way a loved one's face softens into unrecognizable contours before sleep—a quiet surrender to the patient, inevitable claim of the gloom.

verb

To grow dark.“For quotations using this term, see Citations:mirken.”