The noun dawn has 3 senses (first 2 from tagged texts)
1. (11) dawn, dawning, morning, aurora, first light, daybreak, break of day, break of the day, dayspring, sunrise, sunup, cockcrow -- (the first light of day; "we got up before dawn"; "they talked until morning")
2. (1) dawn, morning -- (the earliest period; "the dawn of civilization"; "the morning of the world")
3. dawn -- (an opening time period; "it was the dawn of the Roman Empire")
Overview of verb dawn
The verb dawn has 3 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (1) click, get through, dawn, come home, get across, sink in, penetrate, fall into place -- (become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions; "It dawned on him that she had betrayed him"; "she was penetrated with sorrow")
2. dawn -- (appear or develop; "The age of computers had dawned")
3. dawn -- (become light; "It started to dawn, and we had to get up")