In ancient times, the morning was referred to as the "forenoon" and the afternoon was referred to as the "afternoon." The word "noon" comes from the Latin word "nonae," meaning "ninth," because in ancient Rome the day was divided into three parts: the morning, the afternoon, and the night, and noon was the ninth hour of the day, counted from sunrise.

The terms "forenoon" and "afternoon" are still used today in some contexts, but they are not as common as the modern terms "morning" and "afternoon."