afternoon

thumb|right|The :de:Türkenschanzpark|Türkenschanzpark in [[Vienna during the early afternoon]] thumb|right|Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in [[New York City during the late afternoon]] Afternoon is the period from noon to sunset or evening. It is the time when the sun is descending from its peak in the sky to somewhat before its terminus at the horizon in the west. In human life, it occupies roughly the latter half of the standard work and school day. In literal terms, it refers to a time specifically after noon.

== Terminology == Afternoon is often defined as the period between noon and sunset. If this definition is adopted, the specific range of time varies in one direction: noon is defined as the time when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, but the boundary between afternoon and evening has no standard definition. However, before a period of transition from the 12th to 14th centuries, noon instead referred to 3:00 pm. Possible explanations include shifting times for prayers and midday meals, along which one concept of noon was defined—and so afternoon would have referred to a narrower timeframe.