matutinum

Forms

mātūtīnum n (genitive mātūtīnī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin mātūtīnus (“of the early morning”), used as a noun:^[2] a shortening of ⟨mātūtīnum tempus⟩ “morning time”.^[1] De Vaan connects the adjective with Mātūta (“goddess of dawn”) and mātūrus (“ripe, early”), both from a noun Proto-Italic *mātu- (“ripeness, early moment”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot's first author is Seneca, in whom it means the early morning.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was the early morning, used also by Quintilian and Pliny the Elder, who has it in the plural.^[4][2] In Ecclesiastical Latin it became the night watch and the night office of the church, matins;^[5][1] the English word comes, through Old French, from the plural mātūtīnae of the adjective.^[6]

Timeline

• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it for the early morning.^[4][7]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.^[4][7]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it in the plural.^[4][7]
• mid-13th century – English matins appears.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The early morning.^[2][4][1]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The night watch; matins.^[5][1]

Word family

• matutinalis
• mātūtīnō

Related words

• Mātūta
• mātūrus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de