What is "night watch"

Night \Night\ (n[imac]t), n. [OE. night, niht, AS. neaht, niht; akin to D. nacht, OS. & OHG. naht, G. nacht, Icel. n[=o]tt, Sw. natt, Dan. nat, Goth. nahts, Lith. naktis, Russ. noche, W. nos, Ir. nochd, L. nox, noctis, Gr. ny`x, nykto`s, Skr. nakta, nakti. [root]265. Cf. Equinox, Nocturnal.]

1. That part of the natural day when the sun is beneath the horizon, or the time from sunset to sunrise; esp., the time between dusk and dawn, when there is no light of the sun, but only moonlight, starlight, or artificial light.

   And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
   --Gen. i. 5.

2. Hence:

   1. Darkness; obscurity; concealment.

      Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night.
      --Pope.

   2. Intellectual and moral darkness; ignorance.

   3. A state of affliction; adversity; as, a dreary night of sorrow.

   4. The period after the close of life; death.

      She closed her eyes in everlasting night.
      --Dryden.

      Do not go gentle into that good night Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
      --Dylan Thomas.

   5. A lifeless or unenlivened period, as when nature seems to sleep. ``Sad winter's night''. --Spenser. Note: Night is sometimes used, esp. with participles, in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, night-blooming, night-born, night-warbling, etc. Night by night, Night after night, nightly; many nights. So help me God, as I have watched the night, Ay, night by night, in studying good for England. --Shak. Night bird. (Zo["o]l.)

      1. The moor hen ( Gallinula chloropus).

      2. The Manx shearwater ( Puffinus Anglorum). Night blindness. (Med.) See Hemeralopia. Night cart, a cart used to remove the contents of privies by night. Night churr, (Zo["o]l.), the nightjar. Night crow, a bird that cries in the night. Night dog, a dog that hunts in the night, -- used by poachers. Night fire.

         1. Fire burning in the night.

         2. Ignis fatuus; Will-o'-the-wisp; Jask-with-a-lantern. Night flyer (Zo["o]l.), any creature that flies in the night, as some birds and insects. night glass, a spyglass constructed to concentrate a large amount of light, so as see objects distinctly at night. --Totten. Night green, iodine green. Night hag, a witch supposed to wander in the night. Night hawk (Zo["o]l.), an American bird ( Chordeiles Virginianus), allied to the goatsucker. It hunts the insects on which it feeds toward evening, on the wing, and often, diving down perpendicularly, produces a loud whirring sound, like that of a spinning wheel. Also sometimes applied to the European goatsuckers. It is called also bull bat. Night heron (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of herons of the genus Nycticorax, found in various parts of the world. The best known species is Nycticorax griseus, or Nycticorax nycticorax, of Europe, and the American variety (var. n[ae]vius). The yellow-crowned night heron ( Nyctanassa violacea syn. Nycticorax violaceus) inhabits the Southern States. Called also qua-bird, and squawk. Night house, a public house, or inn, which is open at night. Night key, a key for unfastening a night latch. Night latch, a kind of latch for a door, which is operated from the outside by a key. Night monkey (Zo["o]l.), an owl monkey. night moth (Zo["o]l.), any one of the noctuids. Night parrot (Zo["o]l.), the kakapo. Night piece, a painting representing some night scene, as a moonlight effect, or the like. Night rail, a loose robe, or garment, worn either as a nightgown, or over the dress at night, or in sickness. Night raven (Zo["o]l.), a bird of ill omen that cries in the night; esp., the bittern. Night rule.

            1. A tumult, or frolic, in the night; -- as if a corruption, of night revel. [Obs.]

            2. Such conduct as generally rules, or prevails, at night. What night rule now about this haunted grove? --Shak. Night sight. (Med.) See Nyctolopia. Night snap, a night thief. [Cant] --Beau. & Fl. Night soil, human excrement; -- so called because in cities it is collected by night and carried away for manure. Night spell, a charm against accidents at night. Night swallow (Zo["o]l.), the nightjar. Night walk, a walk in the evening or night. Night walker.

               1. One who walks in his sleep; a somnambulist; a noctambulist.

               2. One who roves about in the night for evil purposes; specifically, a prostitute who walks the streets. Night walking.

                  1. Walking in one's sleep; sleep walking; somnambulism; noctambulism.

                  2. Walking the streets at night with evil designs. Night warbler (Zo["o]l.), the sedge warbler ( Acrocephalus phragmitis); -- called also night singer. [Prov. Eng.] Night watch.

                     1. A period in the night, as distinguished by the change of watch.

                     2. A watch, or guard, to aford protection in the night.

                        Night watcher, one who watches in the night; especially, one who watches with evil designs.

                        Night witch. Same as Night hag, above.

n. 1 a watch kept on some premises, or on a town, by guards during the night 2 the guards on such a watch

n. a watch during the night (as from midnight to 8 a.m.) [syn: graveyard watch, middle watch, midwatch]

Night Watch or Nightwatch may refer to:

• The Night Watch, the popular name of Rembrandt van Rijn's painting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch
• Watchman (law enforcement), a lookout, guard or patrol at night

Night Watch is the 29th novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, published in 2002. The protagonist of the novel is Sir Samuel Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. A five-part radio adaptation of the novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Night Watch placed second in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel.

Night Watch is a 1973 British suspence-thriller film directed by Brian G. Hutton.

The film reunited Elizabeth Taylor with co-star Laurence Harvey from their 1960 collaboration Butterfield 8. It was the last time the pair acted together on screen. Some of the story elements were inspired by the plot outline of the play and 1944 film Gas Light.

Night Watch is the fantasy novel by the Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko to feature his fictional world of the Others. Lukyanenko wrote the story in 1998 and the book was first published in Russia by AST in 1998. The story revolves around a confrontation between two opposing supernatural groups (known as "Others"): the Night Watch, an organization dedicated to policing the actions of the Dark Others—and the Day Watch, which polices the actions of the Light Others.

The novel is first in a cycle that continues with Day Watch (Dnevnoy Dozor, Дневной дозор), Twilight Watch (Sumerechny Dozor, Сумеречный дозор), Final Watch (Posledniy Dozor, Последний дозор), and New Watch (Novyi dozor, Новый дозор). The first story of the novel, Destiny, was made into a successful Russian film, Night Watch, which, although keeping the characters and many of the events of the original novel, alters some significant elements of the story.

Night Watch (, Nochnoy dozor) is a 2004 Russian urban fantasy supernatural thriller film written and directed by Timur Bekmambetov. It is loosely based on the novel The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko, and is the first part of a duology, followed by Day Watch.

Night Watch (Russian: Ночной дозор) is a tactical role-playing game developed by Russian developer Nival Interactive, and based on the Russian novel and the film of the same name. It features a group of Light Others trying to combat the schemes of Day Watch.

The game was released in Russia in 2005 and the United States by CDV on June 29, 2006. A sequel, Day Watch, was released in 2007. The game is powered by the Silent Storm engine.

Night Watch (also known as Detonator II: Night Watch) is a 1995 American television spy film directed by David Jackson starring Pierce Brosnan and Alexandra Paul. The film, also known as Alistair MacLean's Nightwatch, was shot in Hong Kong. The film aired on the USA Network.

It is a sequel to the earlier Brosnan vehicle Death Train.

Night Watch is a 1928 American drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Billie Dove, Paul Lukas and Donald Reed. It was an adaptation of the dramatic 1921 play In the Night Watch, written by Michael Morton. The film is set almost entirely on a French warship at the beginning of the First World War. Although largely a silent film Night Watch was the first of Korda's films to feature sound effects and music but no dialogue from Vitaphone.

Night Watch is a 1992 novel by Icelandic author Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir. It won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1992.