hour English · revision 3513

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200 (ure, Ancrene Riwle)|origins=grc ὥρα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /aʊə/, US /aʊr/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hour]] (earlier [[m|enm|ure]], [[m|enm|our]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|xno|ure]] and [[m|fro|ore|t=canonical hour; one-twelfth of a day]] (also [[m|fro|hore]], modern [[m|fr|heure]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|hōra|t=hour, time, season]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from [[grc|ὥρα|tr=hṓra|t=season, time of day, hour]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline traces the Greek word to [[ine-pro|*yer-|t=year, season]], the source of [[year]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Cresswell 2021) It replaced Old English [[m|ang|tīd|t=time]] and [[m|ang|stund]].^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The h- has been kept in spelling though it has not been pronounced since Roman times.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Probably before 1200, ''ure'', in the ''Ancrene Riwle'';^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline's first sense, from about 1200, is the divine office said at each of the seven canonical hours.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The time of day appointed for prayer, one of the canonical hours, is from about 1300, and Etymonline notes that the Church sense is the oldest in English.^(Etymonline) A space of sixty minutes, one twenty-fourth of a day, is from about 1250 in the OED^(OED 1989) or the late 14th century in Etymonline, which also notes the unequal hours, a twelfth of the daylight or of the night, varying with the season.^(Etymonline) In the Middle Ages the planets were held to rule over the unequal hours.^(Etymonline) The time of a particular event, as in ''the hour of death'', is from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The number of hours since midnight, as in ''at ten hours'', is from 1427.^(OED 1989) ''Hours'', fixed times of work or duty, are from 1852.^(OED 1989) ''Hourglass'' is from about 1515.^(Barnhart 1988) ''The eleventh hour'' comes from the parable of the labourers in Matthew's Gospel.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – ''ure'' (''Ancrene Riwle'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1250 – sixty minutes.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – a canonical hour.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – the time of an event.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1427 – hours since midnight.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1515 – ''hourglass''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1852 – working hours.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One of the 24 equal parts of a day; sixty [[minute|alt=minutes]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The time of day shown by a clock: ''at what hour''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A particular time or period: ''the hour of need''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(hours)'' Set times for work or business.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The distance that can be covered in an hour.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(hours)'' The canonical hours, or the prayers said at them.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hourless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hourly]]

+ * [[hourglass]]

+ * [[horoscope]]

+ * [[year]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}