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mat·ins

(mătnz)

n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

a. Ecclesiastical The office that formerly constituted together with lauds the first of the seven canonical hours.

b. The time of day appointed for this service, traditionally midnight or 2 AM but often sunrise.

2. often Matins See Morning Prayer.

[Middle English matines, from Old French, from Medieval Latin (vigiliae) mātūtīnae, morning (vigils), feminine pl. of Latin mātūtīnus, of the morning, from Mātūta, goddess of dawn; see mā-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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