n. & v.
n. 1 the first light of day; daybreak. 2 the beginning or incipient appearance of something.
v.intr. 1 (of a day) begin; grow light. 2 (often foll. by on, upon) begin to become evident or understood (by a person). dawn chorus the singing of many birds at the break of day.
[ orig. as verb: back-form. f. dawning, ME f. earlier dawing after Scand. (as DAY) ]