nighty night
13
8.1
- noun
- /ˈnaɪti naɪt/
- Baby Talk
- Nighty-night, bestie.
Examples
-
Nighty night, Kelly!
-
Nighty-night, boys.
-
Nighty-night.
-
Nighty-night, Mr. Wolf.
-
Nighty-night, sheep boy.
-
Okay, kids, it's nighty night time.
-
Nighty night and sweet dreams to you, little missy, wherever you are!
-
Nighty night, lovebirds.
Synonyms
877
1.0
A way to say goodbye and wish someone a nice night before sleep
156
1.0
To wish someone a good night before they go to sleep
68
6.0
A friendly short phrase to say to someone before they go to sleep
4
9.1
The time when a child goes to bed to sleep
1
8.2
A casual way to say goodbye at the end of the day
A playful way to say goodnight, often to children
How Friendly
- Informal
46
1.4
- Baby Talk
13
8.1
- Baby Talk
2
8.4
- Literature
1
8.4
68
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
nighty + night
The phrase is transparently built from the base lexeme 'night' plus a childish/diminutive repetition ('nighty'/'night-night') so a learner can infer it relates to the time/night and a farewell. However, the exact pragmatic use as a playful or affectionate 'good night' is a colloquial, child-directed convention (and 'nighty' is a nonce/diminutive form not listed in dictionaries), so the specific pragmatic meaning may not be fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Nighty night is a playful, baby-talk way to say 'goodnight.' One popular story says people began repeating the word night and adding a soft '-y' ending to make it gentle and soothing for children, so today nighty night is used as a loving, comforting way to say 'goodnight'.