[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

dawning \dawn"ing\ n.
   the first light of day; dawn.

   syn: dawn, morning, aurora, first light, daybreak, break of
        day, break of the day, dayspring, sunrise, sunup,
        cockcrow.
        wordnet 1.5

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

dawn \dawn\ daddn, v. i. imp.  p. p. dawned daddnd;
   p. pr.  vb. n. dawning. oe. dawnen, dawen, dagen, daien,
   as. dagian to become day, to dawn, fr. daeg day; akin to d.
   dagen, g. tagen, icel. daga, dan. dages, sw. dagas. see
   day. root71.
   1. to begin to grow light in the morning; to grow light; to
      break, or begin to appear; as, the day dawns; the morning
      dawns.
      1913 webster

            in the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn
            toward the first day of the week, came mary
            magdalene . . . to see the sepulcher. --matt.
                                                  xxviii. 1.
      1913 webster

   2. to began to give promise; to begin to appear or to expand.
      "in dawning youth." --dryden.
      1913 webster

            when life awakes, and dawns at every line. --pope.
      1913 webster

            dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid. --heber,
      1913 webster
see also:
dawned dawning day 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

dawning
     n : the first light of day; "we got up before dawn"; "they
         talked until morning" syn: dawn, morning, aurora,
         first light, daybreak, break of day, break of the
         day, dayspring, sunrise, sunup, cockcrow ant:
         sunset
see also:
dawn morning aurora first light daybreak break of day 
break of the day dayspring sunrise sunup cockcrow 
sunset 

Dawning >> D Words
Dawning, definition of term: Dawning
dawning_pag1.html