contractions - What phrase is "o'clock" contracting?


I have been intrigued by the word o'clock since I learned English. Although there is an equivalent to this word in my native language (Spanish en punto meaning on point or on the dot) I want to know the origin of the term o'clock, especially why it has an apostrophe. Is it meant to contract on the clock or something similar?



Answer



According to The Time-traveller's Guide to Medieval England 'of the clock' was used to describe time when it was being sliced in 24 equal parts (hours) of the day.


It was used to differentiate the practice, used equally as much, of using solar time, whereby the 7th hour would shift in actual time, however would always be 7/12ths of a solar day after sunrise, and the length of an hour would increase in summer and decrease in winter.


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