example: 3pm, 4am
2006-10-19 19:17:34 · 9 answers · asked by tec_13_510 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
a.m is for Argggg morning. p.m is for party til midnight.
2006-10-19 19:21:40 · answer #1 · answered by jezbnme 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
From Astronomy:
Never call 12 Midnight, 12 a.m.
Never call 12 Midnight, 12 p.m.
Never call 12 Noon, 12 a.m.
Never call 12 Noon, 12 p.m.
Always refer to the 12 o'clock during the middle of the night as 12 Midnight
Always refer to the 12 o'clock during the middle of the day as 12 Noon
What do a.m. and p.m. mean?
a.m. : ante meridian - Of, relating to, or taking place in the morning
p.m. : post meridian - Of, relating to, or taking place in the afternoon
However, from Wikipedia (and from LONG business practice!!)
"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. 12 noon and 12 midnight can more clearly and correctly express these times."
Working in the Court system, I can tell you we use 12 p.m. for NOON, as it is the accepted business standard.
2006-10-20 03:08:25 · answer #2 · answered by Yahzmin ♥♥ 4ever 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gotta go with Sophist. I sometimes wonered that too. Never so much so that I looked it up. But, I guess I thought that AM probably stood for "After Midnight", and PM something like "Post Morning".
Glad I checked & didn't really give those (now I know) wrong answers.
Interesting. Lots of abbreviations I think we use without thinking, never really knowing what they mean.
2006-10-19 19:48:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
People write 12pm and think they mean 12 noon.Noon is an instant and 12pm is 12 after noon which is 12 midnight. similarly 12 am is 12 before noon which is also 12 midnight. m is for meridian, medidiem, midday, which, I repeat is an instant
2006-10-19 19:53:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
AM-Ante-meridian
PM-Post-meridian
2006-10-19 19:21:26 · answer #5 · answered by retorik75 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sophist is right. "Ante" and "post" are latin prefixes meaning before and after. The archaic defination of "meridian" is midday (noon), so "ante meridian" is before noon and "post meridian" is afternoon.
2006-10-19 20:31:17 · answer #6 · answered by Lillian L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ante meridien = before noon
post meridien = after noon
2006-10-20 03:37:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
ante meridian and post meridian
2006-10-20 00:13:04 · answer #8 · answered by Lydia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
SOPHIST your first answer is correct. good job.
2006-10-19 19:23:36 · answer #9 · answered by orlin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋