Morning

How to spell morning

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce morning

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does morning mean?

1. nounThe early part of the day, from dawn until noon.

Morning in a sentence

• She drinks two cups of coffee every morning before work.

• The train leaves at six in the morning, so set an alarm.

Where does morning come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from the Old English 'morgen', meaning the dawn or the first part of the day, which traces back to a common Germanic root shared with the Dutch 'morgen' and the German 'Morgen'. In Middle English the form 'morwen' developed, and by analogy with 'evening' the ending '-ing' was attached to give 'morwening' and eventually the modern 'morning'. The literal sense always tied to the coming of light, the moment darkness gives way to day. Its near-twin 'mourning', the act of grieving, comes from a completely different root (Old English 'murnan', to feel sorrow), which is why the two identical-sounding words carry an 'o' versus 'ou' spelling. Remembering that the bright start of the day has the simpler single-vowel 'morn' helps keep it apart from sorrowful 'mourning'.

How the word is built

• morn (Old English morgen: dawn)
• -ing (noun suffix forming the period of time)