Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Benight \Be*night"\ (b[-e]*n[imac]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   {Benighted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Benighting}.]
   1. To involve in darkness; to shroud with the shades of
      night; to obscure. [Archaic]

            The clouds benight the sky.           --Garth.

   2. To overtake with night or darkness, especially before the
      end of a day's journey or task.

            Some virgin, sure, . . . benighted in these woods.
                                                  --Milton.

   3. To involve in moral darkness, or ignorance; to debar from
      intellectual light.

            Shall we to men benighted The lamp of life deny ?
                                                  --Heber.