diurnal

C2+ Topic:Time

US /daɪˈɝnəl/ UK /daɪˈɜːnəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
active during the day; occurring or recurring daily

Most songbirds are diurnal, feeding and singing in daylight hours.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · active during the day;... daily daytime quotidian circadian

Opposites

nocturnal nightly

Word family

Derived forms diurnallydiurnality

Related forms journal journey sojourn

Etymology

From Late Latin diurnalis ('daily'), from Latin diurnus ('of the day'), from dies ('day'), from Proto-Indo-European *dyeu- ('to shine, sky, day').

diurnus Latin dies Latin *dyew- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time Word Formation & Derivatives

# diurnal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** daɪˈɝnəl
**IPA (UK):** daɪˈɜːnəl

## Meanings
1. active during the day; occurring or recurring daily

## Examples
- Most songbirds are diurnal, feeding and singing in daylight hours.

## Synonyms
- daily
- daytime
- quotidian
- circadian

## Antonyms
- nocturnal
- nightly

## Derived Forms
- diurnally
- diurnality

## Related Forms
- journal
- journey
- sojourn

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: diurnus
- Root: dies
- Root: *dyew-

## Etymology
From Late Latin diurnalis ('daily'), from Latin diurnus ('of the day'), from dies ('day'), from Proto-Indo-European *dyeu- ('to shine, sky, day').

## AI Etymology
Diurnal is from Late Latin diurnalis ('daily'), from Latin diurnus ('of the day'), from dies ('day'), from Proto-Indo-European *dyeu- ('to shine, sky, day'). Important recorded forms include diurnus (Latin), dies (Latin), and *dyew- (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers active during the day; occurring or recurring daily. The wider family includes derived forms such as diurnally and diurnality and related words such as journal, journey, and sojourn.

## Topics
- Time
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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diurnal

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