"fear of the night or darkness," 1885, medical Latin, from nycto-, variant of nycti- "night, darkness" + -phobia "fear." Related: Nyctophobic.
Entries linking to nyctophobia
nycti-
before vowels nyct-, word-forming element meaning "night," from Latinized form of Greek nykti-, a combining form of nyx "night" (see night).
-phobia
word-forming element meaning "excessive or irrational fear, horror, or aversion," from Latin -phobia and directly from Greek -phobia "panic fear of," from phobos "fear" (see phobia). In widespread popular use with native words from c. 1800. In psychology, "an abnormal or irrational fear." Related: -phobic.