v.1550s, "to be overtaken by darkness," from be- + night. Figurative sense (especially in past participle adjective benighted) of "to involve in moral or intellectual darkness" is from c.1600. if (window.googletag) {googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('dcomMobileSERPDisplayTopAd-300x250'); });} else {console.error('googletag not defined, dcomMobileSERPDisplayTopAd-300x250');}