from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
benight \be*night"\ (b[-e]*n[imac]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
{Benighted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Benighting}.]
1. To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of
night; to obscure. [Archaic]
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The clouds benight the sky. --Garth.
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2. To overtake with night or darkness, especially before the
end of a day's journey or task.
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Some virgin, sure, . . . benighted in these woods.
--Milton.
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3. To involve in moral darkness, or ignorance; to debar from
intellectual light.
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Shall we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny ? --Heber.
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