hour

[[t]aʊər, ˈaʊ ər[/t]]

n.

1) hor a period of time equal to 1/24 of a mean solar or civil day and equivalent to 60 minutes

2) hor any specific one of these 24 periods, usu. reckoned in two series of 12, one series from midnight to noon and the second from noon to midnight, but sometimes reckoned (esp. in military and non-U.S. usage) in one series of 24, from midnight to midnight: He slept for the hour between 2 and 3 a . m. The hour for the bombardment was between 1330 (1:30 p.m.) and 1400 (2:00 p.m.)

3) any specific time of day; the time indicated by a timepiece:

What is the hour?[/ex]

4) a short or limited period of time:

one's hour of glory[/ex]

5) a particular or appointed time:

At what hour do you open?[/ex]

6) a customary or usual time:

dinner hour[/ex]

7) the present time:

the issues of the hour[/ex]

8) hours

a) time spent at a workplace or in working, studying, etc

b) customary time of going to bed and getting up:

to keep late hours[/ex]

c) rel (in the Christian church) the seven stated times of the day for prayer and devotion

d) rel the offices or services prescribed for these times

e) rel a book containing them

9) the distance normally covered in an hour's traveling:

We live about an hour from the city[/ex]

10) astron. a unit of measure of right ascension representing 15°, or the 24th part of a great circle

11) a single period, as of instruction or therapy, usu. lasting from 40 to 55 minutes

12) edu

credit hour

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Etymology: 1175–1225; < OF (h)ore < L hōra < Gk hṓrā time, season