Diurnal

Diurnal

Diurnal (/daɪˈɜːrnəl/; from Latin diurnus "of the day", from dies "day") is a term in chronobiology used to describe organisms that are active during the daytime and sleep at night. It is the opposite of nocturnal, which refers to organisms that are active during the night and sleep during the day.

Etymology

The term diurnal comes from the Latin word diurnus, meaning "of the day". This, in turn, is derived from dies, the Latin word for "day".

Related Terms

• Crepuscular: Refers to animals that are active during twilight, i.e., dawn and dusk.
• Cathemeral: Refers to animals that have sporadic and random intervals of activity during the day or night.
• Matutinal: Refers to animals that are only active during the dawn.
• Vespertine: Refers to animals that are only active during the dusk.

See Also

• Chronobiology
• Circadian rhythm
• Sleep

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Diurnal
• Wikipedia's article - Diurnal

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