Forget decluttering, self-care and elevation training: the hot trend in lifestyle choices is being crepuscular.
Really, it’s more fun than it sounds.
It’s an ugly word*, which is a shame, because when I say it’s a hot trend I mean that, literally. With temperatures across large swathes of Australia breaking records for hellishness (day after day above 40 degrees Celsius / 104 Fahrenheit) official health advice to a wilting populace is to stay out of the sun and the worst heat in the middle of the day, if possible.
So the smart move is to become a crepuscular creature – one that is most active at dawn and dusk.
Crepuscular comes from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning twilight or dusk and the word can be used in a derogatory sense to imply dim understanding or an ‘imperfect enlightenment’. In zoology, though, it’s one of the words used to describe the behaviour of different species according to when they are most active.
Most people are familiar with the idea that animals are diurnal or nocturnal – active in the day or the night, respectively. Again, these words have Latin roots – dies means day and nox means night and urnus is a suffix denoting time. But we should reject this simplistic reduction of choice to one thing or the other – either diurnal or nocturnal – because reality is more diverse and linguistically interesting.
Many animals, including wombats, deer, ocelots, hyenas and mice, are crepuscular.
Some are matutinal, or matinal (if you want them to sound less like mutants). It just means they are most active at dawn.
Vespertine beasts – like some bats and owls – are most active at dusk and vespertine flowers are those that bloom in the evening.
They’re all derived from Latin words – Matuta was the Roman goddess of the dawn and the canonical hour of Matins takes its name from matutinus vigilias meaning ‘morning watches’. Hesperos, the Greek god of the evening star, became Hesperus in Latin, which became vesper when referring to the evening, the star and west. Vespers, also a canonical hour, is called evensong in English.
Interestingly, Vespa – the brand name for an Italian motor scooter – is the Latin word for wasp, but wasps are diurnal. WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) are unlikely to be found at either matins or vespers, although you might find some high church Anglican varieties at evensong.
Anyway… back to crepuscular. I can’t imagine using it in a non-technical sentence without sounding entirely pompous. But I can imagine adopting the habits of a crepuscular beast – using that delightful time at dawn and dusk to be most active.
Imagine it? I’m living it.
So be crepuscular, stay cool, stay hydrated and remember – for the rest of the daylight hours there is, thankfully, air-conditioning.
*Word for Wednesday can get a little judgey, but even the Online Etymology Dictionary agrees the older adjective form ‘crepusculine’ sounded ‘lovelier’.