Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The etymology of noon

The word "noon" is derived from Latin nona hora, the ninth hour of the day. As the Roman day started on 6.00 a.m., at sunrise, the first hour would have been from 6.00 till 7.00 a.m and the ninth hour from 2.00 till 3.00 p.m. These hours were important in monasteries, as different prayers were held on them.
The English word "noon" originally applied at 3.00 p.m., but by 1100 AD the meaning had shifted to "midday".

(wikipedia)

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