Word.ws English Dictionary

matins

/ˈmætɪnz/

matins noun: together with lauds, the earliest of the canonical hours; traditionally prayed at sunrise or earlier. Also the plural of matin.

Noun

matins

  1. Together with lauds, the earliest of the canonical hours; traditionally prayed at sunrise or earlier.
    • This chant was sung in many cathedrals both at First Vespers and at Matins for Christmas Day. In Notre Dame and many other churches, however, it was only performed at First Vespers.2017, Edward H. Roesner, editor, Ars antiqua: Organum, Conductus, Motet, Routledge, →ISBN, page 43
  2. Morning prayers.
    • The monk must arise when the matins ring, / The abbot may sleep to their chime; / But the yeoman must start when the bugles sing / ’Tis time, my hearts, ’tis time.1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald...

Proper noun capitalized: Matins

Matins

  1. (plural) plural of Matin

Also used as

matins is also the plural of matin.

Forms of matins

alternative formmattins

Origin of matins

From Middle English matyns, matynes, from Old French matines.

Words formed from matins

Questions about matins

What does matins mean?
Matins means together with lauds, the earliest of the canonical hours; traditionally prayed at sunrise or earlier.
What part of speech is matins?
Matins can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce matins?
Matins is pronounced /ˈmætɪnz/.

Words near matins in the dictionary

  1. mating seasons
  2. mating strategies
  3. mating strategy
  4. matings
  5. Matinik
  6. matins
  7. matinée
  8. matinée coat
  9. matinée coats
  10. matinée idol
  11. matinée idols

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: matins (page history and authors); Matins (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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