Hours
/aʊərz/noun
Units of time equal to 60 minutes.
Did you know?In ancient cultures, hours were often associated with deities, marking sacred times for rituals and celestial observations.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁or-
“to become light or rise, related to the concept of daybreak.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ὥρα (hōra)
“a season or a specific time, often linked to the divine and natural order.”
Latin
Latin
hora
“a period of time, especially in relation to the sun and its cycles.”
Old French
Old French
ore
“time or hour, influenced by the Latin adaptation.”
Middle English
Middle English
oure
“a division of the day, borrowed from Old French.”
Modern English
English
hours
“the contemporary term for the 60-minute periods we use to measure parts of the day.”