English → Latin
“clock” in Latin
The English word clock itself goes back to Latin clocca.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
clock
horologium (ὡρολόγιον, general term for any instrumeat for telling the time). A clock goes, *horologium movetur: a clock is right, horologii lineae congruunt ad horas (of a sun-dial, in Plin..): horologii virgula congruit ad horas (of our clock). A clock is wrong, horologii virgula non congruit mi horas: goes too fast, tuo slow, *horologium celerius or tardius movetur: strikes, *horologium sono indicat horas: to set a clock, horologium diligenter ordinare: to wind up a clock, *horologium intendere: the clock has stopped, horologium moveri desiit: the clock is down, *horologium devolutum est (Reichard). What o’clock is it? hora quota est? at what o’clock? hora quota? or quota? only. It has struck five o’clock, *hora quinta audita est: they bring word that it is five o’clock, hora quiuta nunciatur (Suet., Dom., 16): to ask what o’clock it is. horas (not horam) requirere: to ask anybody what o’clock it is. quaerere horas ab aliquo: to send anybody to see what o’clock it is, mittere ad horas. Hands of a clock, *horologii virgulae: works of a clock, machinatio, qua horae moventur (after Cic., N.D., 2, 38, 97). A man who is like clock-work, homo observantissimus omnium officiorum (Plin..): *qui omnia ad tempus diligentissime agit or administrat.
Water-clock, clepsydra (κλεψύδρα). The water-clock has run out, clepsydra exhausta est (Kraft), or extremum stillicidium exhausit (Sen.). OBSERVE: Cic. applies solarium as general term even to a water-clock, cum solarium aut descriptum (sun-dial), aut ex aqua (water-clock), contemplere.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for clock?
- The usual Latin words for “clock” are hōrologium, tuus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.