matins

mattins

/ (ˈmætɪnz) /

Save This Word!

noun (functioning as singular or plural)

mainly RC Church the first of the seven canonical hours of prayer, originally observed at night but now often recited with lauds at daybreak
the service of morning prayer in the Church of England

literary a morning song, esp of birds

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Word Origin for matins

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

Words nearby matins

matinée, matinée coat, matinée idol, mating, mating ball, matins, Matisse, Matisse, Henri, matjes herring, matlo, Matlock

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use matins in a sentence

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.
Belgium|George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
Full choral matins at seven o'clock in the morning all the year round.
A Thin Ghost and Others|M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
The bell was that of the “faire chappell” on 142 the green outside the gatehouse, and it was calling to matins.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, July, 1893|Various
The days when the thrushes sang matins were come, and all the way she heard freshets of holy song pouring down through the air.
Plashers Mead|Compton Mackenzie

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."
History of the Rise of the Huguenots|Henry Baird