MORNING  , properly the

dawn of day, sunrise, but extended to the whole early part of the day, from the dawn to midday . " Morning " (M . Eng. morwening) was formed on the analogy of " evening," from " morn," in M . Eng. morwen, and originally meant the coming of the sunrise, as " evening," the coming of the close of the day (O . Eng. cefnung, from mien, eve) . The O . Eng. morgen represents the common Teutonic word for the dawn; the ultimate source has been assigned to the root, seen in " murk," " murky," meaning to be dark, or, with more probability, to the root mergh, to twinkle, shine (cf . Lith. mirga), and further to the root mar, as in Gr. yapzatpew, to shine (cf . Lat. marmor, marble) . The M . Eng. morwen dropped then and became morwe, " morrow," which properly means " morning," but was soon used of the day following the present . The " morning-star " (Ger .

Morgenstern) was a military weapon of the

middle ages, consisting of a mace or club with a ball head studded with spikes; the spiked ball was sometimes swung loose from the head of the mace by a chain . The weapon was also known as a " holy water sprinkler." The "morning-gift," earlier " moryeve," Ger . Morgengabe, was the present given to a bride by her husband on the morning after the marriage . The custom is probably connected with the origin of the term " morganatic marriage " (see MORGANATIC) .