matins

/ ˈmætɪnz /

noun

1. 1. RC Church the first of the seven canonical hours of prayer, originally observed at night but now often recited with lauds at daybreak
   2. the service of morning prayer in the Church of England
2. literary.
   a morning song, esp of birds

Word History and Origins

Origin of matins¹

C13: from Old French, ultimately from Latin mātūtīnus of the morning, from Mātūta goddess of dawn

Example Sentences

Damme, where the patriots mustered on the eve of the Bruges Matins, is within a short hour's stroll from the east end of the town.

From Project Gutenberg

Full choral matins at seven o'clock in the morning all the year round.

From Project Gutenberg

The bell was that of the “faire chappell” on 142 the green outside the gatehouse, and it was calling to matins.

From Project Gutenberg

The days when the thrushes sang matins were come, and all the way she heard freshets of holy song pouring down through the air.

From Project Gutenberg

They added, "that, with God's help, they hoped not to be caught in their beds as their brethren had been at the Parisian matins."

From Project Gutenberg