Word Study
clock
CIDE DICTIONARY
clock, n. [AS. clucge bell; akin to D. klok clock, bell, G. glocke, Dan. klokke, Sw. klocka, Icel. klukka bell, LL. clocca, cloca (whence F. cloche); al perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. clog bell, clock, W. cloch bell. Cf. Cloak.].
- A machine for measuring time, indicating the hour and other divisions; in ordinary mechanical clocks for domestic or office use the time is indicated on a typically circular
face ordial plate containing twohands , pointing to numbers engraved on the periphery of the face, thus showing the hours and minutes. The works of a mechanical clock are moved by a weight or a spring, and it is often so constructed as to tell the hour by the stroke of a hammer on a bell. In electrical or electronic clocks, the time may be indicated, as on a mechanical clock, by hands, but may also be indicated by directdigital readout, with the hours and minutes in normal Arabic numerals. The readout using hands is often calledanalog to distinguish it from thedigital readout. Some clocks also indicate the seconds. Clocks are not adapted, like the watch, to be carried on the person. Specialized clocks, such asatomic clocks , may be constructed on different principles, and may have a very high precision for use in scientific observations. [1913 Webster] - A watch, esp. one that strikes. Walton. [1913 Webster]
- The striking of a clock. Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- A figure or figured work on the ankle or side of a stocking. Swift. [1913 Webster]" The phrases what o'clock? it is nine o'clock, etc., are contracted from what of the clock? it is nine of the clock, etc." [1913 Webster]
clock, v. t.
To ornament with figured work, as the side of a stocking. [1913 Webster]
clock, v. t. & i.
To call, as a hen. See Cluck. [1913 Webster]
clock, n.
A large beetle, esp. the European dung beetle (Scarabæus stercorarius ). [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
clock, n. & v.
--n.
1 an instrument for measuring time, driven mechanically or electrically and indicating hours, minutes, etc., by hands on a dial or by displayed figures.
2 a any measuring device resembling a clock. b colloq. a speedometer, taximeter, or stopwatch.
3 time taken as an element in competitive sports etc. (ran against the clock).
4 Brit. sl. a person's face.
5 a downy seed-head, esp. that of a dandelion.
--v.tr.
1 colloq. a (often foll. by up) attain or register (a stated time, distance, or speed, esp. in a race). b time (a race) with a stopwatch.
2 Brit. sl. hit, esp. on the head.
--n.
1 an instrument for measuring time, driven mechanically or electrically and indicating hours, minutes, etc., by hands on a dial or by displayed figures.
2 a any measuring device resembling a clock. b colloq. a speedometer, taximeter, or stopwatch.
3 time taken as an element in competitive sports etc. (ran against the clock).
4 Brit. sl. a person's face.
5 a downy seed-head, esp. that of a dandelion.
--v.tr.
1 colloq. a (often foll. by up) attain or register (a stated time, distance, or speed, esp. in a race). b time (a race) with a stopwatch.
2 Brit. sl. hit, esp. on the head.
Idiom
clock golf a game in which a golf ball is putted into a hole from successive points in a circle. clock in (or on) register one's arrival at work, esp. by means of an automatic recording clock. clock off (or out) register one's departure similarly. clock radio a combined radio and alarm clock. round the clock all day and (usu.) night. watch the clock = CLOCK-WATCH.
clock, n. an ornamental pattern on the side of a stocking or sock near the ankle.
Etymology
16th c.: orig. unkn.
DEVIL DICTIONARY
clock
n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern for the future by reminding him what a lot of time remains to him.
A busy man complained one day:
"I get no time!" "What's that you say?"
Cried out his friend, a lazy quiz;
"You have, sir, all the time there is.
There's plenty, too, and don't you doubt it --
We're never for an hour without it."
Purzil Crofe
THESAURUS
clock
Big Ben, beat time, brood, chronometer, clock movement, clockworks, cover, fix the time, horologe, horologium, keep time, mark time, measure time, set, set the time, sit, ticker, time, timekeeper, timepiece, timer, turnip, watch, watchworksROGET THESAURUS
clock
Chronometry
N chronometry, horometry, horology, date, epoch, style, era, almanac, calendar, ephemeris, register, registry, chronicle, annals, journal, diary, chronogram, clock, wall clock, pendulum clock, grandfather's clock, cuckoo clock, alarm clock, clock radio, watch, wristwatch, pocket watch, stopwatch, Swiss watch, atomic clock, digital clock, analog clock, quartz watch, water clock, chronometer, chronoscope, chronograph, repeater, timekeeper, timepiece, dial, sundial, gnomon, horologe, pendulum, hourglass, clepsydra, ghurry, chronographer, chronologer, chronologist, timekeeper, annalist, calendar year, leap year, Julian calendar, Gregorian calendar, Chinese calendar, Jewish calendar, perpetual calendar, Farmer's almanac, fiscal year, chronological, chronometrical, chronogrammatical, cinquecento, quattrocento, trecento, o'clock.Measurement
N measurement, admeasurement, mensuration, survey, valuation, appraisement, assessment, assize, estimate, estimation, dead reckoning, reckoning, gauging, horse power, metrology, weights and measures, compound arithmetic, measure, yard measure, standard, rule, foot rule, compass, calipers, gage, gauge, meter, line, rod, check, dividers, velo, flood mark, high water mark, Plimsoll line, index, scale, graduation, graduated scale, nonius, vernier, bathometer, galvanometer, heliometer, interferometer, odometer, ombrometer, pantometer, pluviometer, pneumatometer, pneumometer, radiometer, refractometer, respirometer, rheometer, spirometer, telemeter, udometer, vacuometer, variometer, viameter, thermometer, thermistor (heat) &c, barometer (air), anemometer (wind), dynamometer, goniometer, (angle) 244 meter, landmark, balance, scale, marigraph, pneumatograph, stethograph, rain gauge, rain gage, voltmeter (volts), ammeter (amps), spectrophotometer (light absorbance), mass spectrophotometer (molecular mass), geiger counter, scintillation counter (radioactivity), pycnometer (liquid density), graduated cylinder, volumetric flask (volume), radar gun (velocity), radar (distance), side-looking radar, (shape, topography), sonar (depth in water), light meter (light intensity), clock, watch, stopwatch, chronometer (time), anemometer (wind velocity), densitometer (color intensity), measurability, computability, determinability, coordinates, ordinate and abscissa, polar coordinates, latitude and longitude, declination and right ascension, altitude and azimuth, geometry, stereometry, hypsometry, metage, surveying, land surveying, geodesy, geodetics, geodesia, orthometry, altimetry, cadastre, astrolabe, armillary sphere, land surveyor, geometer, measuring, metric, metrical, measurable, perceptible, noticeable, detectable, appreciable, ponderable, determinable, fathomable, geodetical, topographic, topographical, cartographic, cartographical.For further exploring for "clock" in Webster Dictionary Online
