Hour \Hour\, n. [OE. hour, our, hore, ure, OF. hore, ore, ure,
F. heure, L. hora, fr. Gr. ?, orig., a definite space of
time, fixed by natural laws; hence, a season, the time of the
day, an hour. See Year, and cf. Horologe, Horoscope.]
1. The twenty-fourth part of a day; sixty minutes.
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2. The time of the day, as expressed in hours and minutes,
and indicated by a timepiece; as, what is the hour? At
what hour shall we meet?
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3. Fixed or appointed time; conjuncture; a particular time or
occasion; as, the hour of greatest peril; the man for the
hour.
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Woman, . . . mine hour is not yet come. --John ii.
4.
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This is your hour, and the power of darkness. --Luke
xxii. 53.
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4. pl. (R. C. Ch.) Certain prayers to be repeated at stated
times of the day, as matins and vespers.
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5. A measure of distance traveled.
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Vilvoorden, three hours from Brussels. --J. P.
Peters.
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After hours, after the time appointed for one's regular
labor.
Canonical hours. See under Canonical.
Hour angle (Astron.), the angle between the hour circle
passing through a given body, and the meridian of a place.
Hour circle. (Astron.)
(a) Any circle of the sphere passing through the two poles
of the equator; esp., one of the circles drawn on an
artificial globe through the poles, and dividing the
equator into spaces of 15[deg], or one hour, each.
(b) A circle upon an equatorial telescope lying parallel
to the plane of the earth's equator, and graduated in
hours and subdivisions of hours of right ascension.
(c) A small brass circle attached to the north pole of an
artificial globe, and divided into twenty-four parts
or hours. It is used to mark differences of time in
working problems on the globe.
Hour hand, the hand or index which shows the hour on a
timepiece.
Hour line.
(a) (Astron.) A line indicating the hour.
(b) (Dialing) A line on which the shadow falls at a given
hour; the intersection of an hour circle which the
face of the dial.
Hour plate, the plate of a timepiece on which the hours are
marked; the dial. --Locke.
Sidereal hour, the twenty-fourth part of a sidereal day.
Solar hour, the twenty-fourth part of a solar day.
The small hours, the early hours of the morning, as one
o'clock, two o'clock, etc.
To keep good hours, to be regular in going to bed early.
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Hour
First found in Dan. 3:6; 4:19, 33;5:5. It is the rendering of
the Chaldee shaah, meaning a "moment," a "look." It is used in
the New Testament frequently to denote some determinate season
(Matt. 8:13; Luke 12:39).
With the ancient Hebrews the divisions of the day were
"morning, evening, and noon-day" (Ps. 55:17, etc.). The Greeks,
following the Babylonians, divided the day into twelve hours.
The Jews, during the Captivity, learned also from the
Babylonians this method of dividing time. When Judea became
subject to the Romans, the Jews adopted the Roman mode of
reckoning time. The night was divided into four watches (Luke
12:38; Matt. 14:25; 13:25). Frequent allusion is also made to
hours (Matt. 25:13; 26:40, etc.). (See DAY.)
An hour was the twelfth part of the day, reckoning from
sunrise to sunset, and consequently it perpetually varied in
length.
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