The word 'Watch' for Timepiece,..

[Richard Tracy]

Is it because we watch the time, or the timepiece watches it for us ?

If Watch, is Not the word in your language,.. then What is the Word,

and meaning in your tongue ?

[Victoria]

Is it because we watch the time, or the timepiece watches it for us ?

GANG WAY! PEDANT REPLYING!

Watch, as you know, is a contraction of Wristwatch, and before that, pocketwatch. Like bus is a contraction of the now obsolete omnibus. So yes, it is something we 'watched', hence the usage.

English is one of those languages which has a separate word for Clock and Watch. In Spanish, e.g., reloj is used interchangeably for either instrument to tell time.

Many languages do not differentiate between Hour and Watch either. I'm sure my German compadres will join in at this point.

If Watch, is Not the word in your language,.. then What is the Word,

and meaning in your tongue ?

Being a polyglot, I'm bowing out before I dominate this thread. No one likes a smartypants.

[Richard Tracy]

Many languages do not differentiate between Hour and Watch either. I'm sure my German compadres will join in at this point.

Very interesting,.... So 'Hour' and 'Watch' is the same in some languages ?

It would be strange in English to say "Where did I put my Hour ?" in reference to a timepiece..

People would respond as if we had lost an hour of our day.... or our mind...

Great insights.... Thanks !!

[Victoria]

Very interesting,.... So 'Hour' and 'Watch' is the same in some languages ?

Yes, sir.

It would be strange in English to say "Where did I put my Hour ?" in reference to a timepiece..

I know! It sounds so odd to our ears.

People would respond as if we had lost an hour of our day.... or our mind...

Great insights.... Thanks !!

One more:

"Hora" (hour) is still used in Portuguese, Spanish directly from the Latin "hora", without alteration, all through these millenia.

That's also the root for the German word for hour/watch/clock "Uhr".

Note, Hora is also a very old Romanian/East European dance. You dance it as if going around a clock. Not sure if that is the origin, though, but I wouldn't be surprised!

[Corgi]

English is one of those languages which has a separate word for Clock and Watch. In Spanish, e.g., reloj is used interchangeably for either instrument to tell time.

French has the same thing with "montre" for watch (literally the verb 'to show') and "horloge" for clock.

In Polish its really strange, because a "Zegar" is a clock while a "Zegarek" is a wristwatch. I don't know the official rule about this in Polish but usually you can add little endings to words to signify their smaller versions. Like "kuchnia" and "kuchenka" for stove and microwave respectively....... bizarre!

[Victoria]

French has the same thing with "montre" for watch (literally the verb 'to show') and "horloge" for clock.

In Polish its really strange, because a "Zegar" is a clock while a "Zegarek" is a wristwatch. I don't know the official rule about this in Polish but usually you can add little endings to words to signify their smaller versions. Like "kuchnia" and "kuchenka" for stove and microwave respectively....... bizarre!

Hmm! Isn't -enk(a)/-ek the diminutive in many Slavic languages?* A Wristwatch is smaller than a clock, even a Panerai , so it would make sense.

*I'm thinking of Kolen^ka, for Nikolai, e.g.

[scoobs1971]

In the Dutch language (= Netherlands) it's 'Horloge' for a wristwatch and 'Klok' for a clock. Some people will call a high end wristwatch also 'Klok', but to me it sounds a bit silly. A better word for a high end watch is 'Uurwerk', which literally means 'hour work' and is similar to the word timepiece.

'Horloge' is destined from the French language which is destined from the Latin word 'Hora' for hour.

'Klok' sounds similar to the English 'Clock'.

Edited November 15, 2007 by scoobs1971

[b16a2]

In the Royal Navy, there is a position called Officer of the Watch. Among other duties, they had to sound a bell at certain periods, so that everyone on board the ship knew the time of day. A certain pattern indicated a certain time. Hence timepieces being referred to now as a watch (Officer of the Watch)

[Everythingape]

In norwegian we mostly say "klokke" whether it's a wristwatch or a clock, "klokke" is also used for bells. The 'correct' term for the wrist-worn variety is "armb

[Victoria]

In norwegian we mostly say "klokke" whether it's a wristwatch or a clock, "klokke" is also used for bells. The 'correct' term for the wrist-worn variety is "armb

[Everythingape]

Question for you, Apey.

Is there a difference between Bokm

[cornerstone]

What a great question!

I found this online (etymonline.com), although it doesn't give its source for the bit we're interested in (OED? Perhaps the OED might have a fuller answer.)

The meaning "small timepiece" is from 1588, developing from that of "a clock to wake up sleepers" (1440). Watchmaker is recorded from 1630;.

The wake link would be the Anglo-Saxon w

[Victoria]

I found this online (etymonline.com), although it doesn't give its source for the bit we're interested in (OED? Perhaps the OED might have a fuller answer.)

Great link! As a little kid, I used to read Mario Pei and Isaac Asimov's books on etymology for hours. I could never get enough of knowing the origins of words -- since you get insight on the progression of human thought, and what one culture thinks is important or familiar.

-- Like the various words for "German". Tedesco in Italian, Allemande in French because those were the tribes of German peoples which came into contact with them first (the Teutons, and Alamanni) --

The wake link would be the Anglo-Saxon w

[cornerstone]

Ooh, sounds vaguely like Wicca.

That's an interesting connection - at first I thought, isn't it weird how w

[Victoria]

That's an interesting connection - at first I thought, isn't it weird how w

[DET11]

I had heard recently that the colloquial for "wrist timepiece" came from the fact that Vacheron Constantine developed one of the first wrist worn clocks, became the most popular make and thus ........Vach=watch became the interchangable word for it.

[FxrAndy]

Thanks for this interesting thread, one word (time related) i would love to know the orgin is "Moment", i mean we all say it dont we "just moment" but what a weird word MO MENT where the hell did that come from?

[POTR]

In Korean watch or clock would be 시계 (she-gay)

wristwatch would be 손목 시계 (son mok she-gay) (long o sounds)

[Pugwash]

I had heard recently that the colloquial for "wrist timepiece" came from the fact that Vacheron Constantine developed one of the first wrist worn clocks, became the most popular make and thus ........Vach=watch became the interchangable word for it.

Yeah, but that's total [censored]. :-)

Vacheron is pronounced vash-er-on (the a is the same as in hat) and the word watch pre-dates V&C by several centuries.

[Pugwash]

Thanks for this interesting thread, one word (time related) i would love to know the orgin is "Moment", i mean we all say it dont we "just moment" but what a weird word MO MENT where the hell did that come from?

moment

1340, "very brief portion of time, instant," in moment of time, from O.Fr. moment, from L. momentum "movement, moving power," also "instant, importance," contraction of *movimentum, from movere "to move" (see move). Some (but not O.E.D.) explain the sense evolution of the L. word by notion of a particle so small it would just "move" the pointer of a scale, which led to the transf. sense of "minute time division." Sense of "importance, 'weight' " is attested in Eng. from 1522. Momentous formed 1656 in Eng., to carry the sense of "important" while momentary (1526) kept the meaning "of an instant of time." Phrase never a dull moment first recorded 1889 in Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat." Phrase moment of truth first recorded 1932 in Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon," from Sp. el momento de la verdad, the final sword-thrust in a bull-fight.

[DET11]

Yeah, but that's total [censored]. :-)

Thank you for the enlightenment Pug

[Victoria]

In Korean watch or clock would be 시계 (she-gay)

wristwatch would be 손목 시계 (son mok she-gay) (long o sounds)

Whoa. She gay, huh? That is veddy interesting.

Thanks, POTR!

[Richard Tracy]

Thanks Everyone for the fascinating insights ... especially to Vbarrett who is a WordSmith extraordinare !

Any more input would be greatly appreciated for our board, as I plan on linking to this post to my signature...

[FxrAndy]

moment

1340, "very brief portion of time, instant," in moment of time, from O.Fr. moment, from L. momentum "movement, moving power," also "instant, importance," contraction of *movimentum, from movere "to move" (see move). Some (but not O.E.D.) explain the sense evolution of the L. word by notion of a particle so small it would just "move" the pointer of a scale, which led to the transf. sense of "minute time division." Sense of "importance, 'weight' " is attested in Eng. from 1522. Momentous formed 1656 in Eng., to carry the sense of "important" while momentary (1526) kept the meaning "of an instant of time." Phrase never a dull moment first recorded 1889 in Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat." Phrase moment of truth first recorded 1932 in Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon," from Sp. el momento de la verdad, the final sword-thrust in a bull-fight.

Thanks Pug