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Matins
4 dictionary results for: Matins
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mat·ins       (māt'nz)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
    1. Ecclesiastical The office that formerly constituted together with lauds the first of the seven canonical hours.
    2. The time of day appointed for this service, traditionally midnight or 2 A.M. 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 Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Morn·ing Prayer   (môr'nĭng prâr)
n.   The liturgical service used for morning worship in the Anglican Church. Also called matins.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
matins 
c.1250, from O.Fr. matines, from L.L. matutinas (nom. matutinæ) "morning prayers," originally matutinas vigilias "morning watches," from L. matutinus "of or in the morning," associated with Matuta, Roman dawn goddess (see mañana). The O.E. word was uht-sang, from uhte "daybreak."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
matins

noun
the first canonical hour; at daybreak 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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