matutinal
/məˈtjuː.tɪ.nl̩
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French matutinal (modern French matutinal), and from its etymon Late Latin mātūtīnālis (“(adjective) belonging to the morning; of or pertaining to matins; (noun) morning hymn or psalm; book of lauds”), from Latin mātūtīnus (“of, occurring in, or pertaining to the early morning, matutine”) (from Mātūta (“Roman goddess of the dawn or morning”) (from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- (“to mature, ripen; opportune, timely; good, great”)) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship). The second sense (“active in the morning; waking up early”) is possibly modelled after French matinal (“relating to the morning, matinal”).
matutinal means of, occurring in, or relating to the morning, especially the early morning upon waking up. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
Why this word is great
MATUTINAL — [Adjective] Of, relating to, or occurring in the morning, especially the early morning. From Late Latin mātūtīnālis, from Latin mātūtīnus ("of the morning"), from Mātūta ("Roman goddess of the dawn") + the adjectival suffix -īnus. Unlike the encompassing "diurnal" or the clinical "matinal," "matutinal" describes the singular, ephemeral quality of the world's first stirrings. It is the silvered chill lifting from dewy grass, the solitary cry of a bird before the chorus, and the clean scent of air before the world exhales its heat—a crystalline state that exists only before the day insists upon itself, a quietude so complete it feels less like a time of day than a temporary state of grace.
adj
- Of, occurring in, or relating to the morning, especially the early morning upon waking up.“1874, Henry James, "Professor Fargo" in The Galaxy 18(2) (August 1874): 233–253.
[A] young lady was introduced who had come to request him to raise a ghost—a resolute young lady, with several ringlets and a huge ancestral umbrella, whose matutinal appetite for the supernatural had not been quenched by the raw autumnal storm.”
- Active in the morning; waking up early.“Pen, putting on his hat, strode forth into the air, and almost over the body of the matutinal housemaid, who was rubbing the steps at the door.”