2006-08-01 19:48:27 · 16 answers · asked by casper 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
In a 12-hour clock notation, 'Ante Meridiem' (Latin) stands for 'before noon', and 'Post Meridiem' stands for 'after noon'.
These are condensed into the acronyms 'am' and 'pm' !
2006-08-01 19:57:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
All of the "ante meridian" and "post meridian" answers are correct.
I'd like to add that these terms do NOT refer to the "prime meridian" which runs through Greenwich, England and is the start/finish point for longitude numbering.
It DOES refer to the "noon" point on a sundial, when you have sunlight (obviously, where the sun doesn't rise above the horizon, "sundials" are useless, but the earth still rotates and clocks are wonderful inventions for those denizens of the Great White North). No matter where you are or where the sun is in its annual shifting in the sky (okay, the Earth shifts, not the sun, but you takes your frame of reference and you runs with it), no matter where you are, at "noon", the shadow line will point to 12 on a properly aligned (axial north in the Northern Hemisphere) sundial.
Hope that helps.
Cheers.
2006-08-01 23:32:06 · answer #2 · answered by Grendle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 12-hour clock is a timekeeping convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem (a.m., from Latin, literally "before midday") and post meridiem (p.m., "after midday"). Each period consists of 12 hours numbered 12 (acting as a zero), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. The a.m. period runs from midnight to noon, while the p.m. period runs from noon to midnight. The most common convention is to assign 12 a.m. to midnight and 12 p.m. to noon, defining both half days to have a closed (inclusive) beginning and open (exclusive) end.
2006-08-04 13:46:22 · answer #3 · answered by mspentinum 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The other answers are right but for my young children that can't get it right, I tell them that am is at morning and pm is past morning and am is before noon and pm is past noon.
2006-08-01 20:01:01 · answer #4 · answered by DeeJay 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
am - ante meridian
pm - post meridian
they refer to the imaginary lines on the globe, particularly the prime meridian. Ante means before and post means after.
2006-08-01 19:54:16 · answer #5 · answered by Violetcharm 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
am stands for ante meridian--Latin for before noon (meridian). pm stands for post meridian--Latin for after noon. Even though noon is technically meridian, so neither one is right for it, we label it as pm because the instant after exactly noon would be post meridian.
2006-08-02 05:11:42 · answer #6 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anti meridian and post meridian - the meridian is noon, anti is before and post is after,.
2006-08-01 23:02:23 · answer #7 · answered by RAMA K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends where you are !
In the north pole it is 6 months day and 6 months night
2006-08-01 20:05:31 · answer #8 · answered by jason 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anti meridian and post meridian - the meridian is noon, anti is before and post is after, gottit?
2006-08-01 19:54:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They stand for anti and post meridian.
2006-08-02 02:26:33 · answer #10 · answered by samanthajanecaroline 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋