Nyctophobia
/ˌnɪk.toʊˈfoʊ.bi.ə/noun
An extreme or irrational fear of darkness or night.
Did you know?The first element comes from Greek nyx, nyktos, meaning “night,” a root that also gave English words like nocturnal and equinox, while the second comes from phobos, “fear,” the same word behind phobia and the god Phobos, personified terror in Greek myth.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*nókʷts
“night”
Ancient Greek
Greek
nyx, nyktos
“night”
Ancient Greek
Greek
phobos
“fear, panic, flight”
19th Century
English
nyctophobia
“a pathological fear of darkness or night”
Modern English
English
nyctophobia
“an extreme fear of darkness or night”