| 词源 |
noon. Why does noon derive from the Latin nono, meaning “nine”? Noon actually first meant the ninth hour of the day— counted from sunrise, which comes at 6 a.m. on the average. Noon was thus at 3 p.m., halfway between midday and sunset, or the middle of the afternoon. Early in the 13th century the meaning of noon began to change from 3 p.m., or the middle of the afternoon, to 12 o’clock, or the middle of the day itself, pos- sibly because it was a handy word to apply to the time when the midday meal was eaten. |