Of, relating to, or occurring in the morning; early.

[Late Latin mātūtīnālis, from Latin mātūtīnus. See matins.]

(muh-TOOT-n-uhl)
adjective

Relating to or occurring in the morning.

[From Late Latin matutinalis, from Latin matutinus (of the morning). Ultimately from Indo-European root ma- (good) that is also the source of words such as mature, matinee, matins, Spanish ma�ana (tomorrow, morning, future).]

Usage:

"In fact, the menagerie of breakfast icons in whom we put our matutinal trust are a pretty fruity, nutty, and flakey bunch all round." — Victor Lewis-Smith; Bit of roughage at Kellogg's; Evening Standard (London, UK); Jul 17, 2000.

"If you live in a city neighborhood and go for a morning walk, you know that one of the true delights of a matutinal stroll is the chance to check out the neighborhood trove." — Scot Lehigh; Curb Appeal; Boston Globe (Massachusetts); May 6, 2001.

The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: pertaining to or occurring in the morning

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Definition and Usage

– Relating to or occurring in the morning; early.

"Harry Truman - like Winston Churchill - was known to take a matutinal shot of whisky. He did it after his regular early-morning walk".

Biology

Matutinal is a term used in the life sciences, to describe an organism that is only or primarily active in the pre-dawn hours or early morning. The variant term matinal is used apparently only in entomology, often used in literature on the natural history and ecology of bees. There are numerous genera and species of bees which exhibit this behavior, presumably to escape from competition for resources, and many flowers (e.g. squash and morning glory) have adapted to this particular pollination syndrome. (See also crepuscular.)

The etymology of the term is the latin word matutinum tempus (time of the morning)^{[citation needed]}.

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