clep·sy·dra

(klĕp′sĭ-drə)

n. pl. clep·sy·dras or clep·sy·drae (-drē′)

An ancient device that measured time by marking the regulated flow of water through a small opening. Also called water glass.

[Latin, from Greek klepsudrā : kleptein, kleps-, to steal + hudōr, water; see wed- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

clepsydra

(ˈklɛpsɪdrə)

n, pl -dras or -drae (-ˌdriː)

(Horology) an ancient device for measuring time by the flow of water or mercury through a small aperture. Also called: water clock

[C17: from Latin, from Greek klepsudra, from kleptein to steal + hudōr water]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

clep•sy•dra

(ˈklɛp sɪ drə)

n., pl. -dras, -drae (-ˌdri)

water clock.

[1640–50; < Latin < Greek klepsýdra <kléptein to steal + hýdōr water]

clepsydra

an instrument for measuring time by the controlled flow of water or mercury through a small opening.

See also: Instruments, Time

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

clepsydra - clock that measures time by the escape of water

water clock, water glass

clock - a timepiece that shows the time of day

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Clepsydra: (a) low value (b) trend (c) unsettling (d) water clock 2.

Stamps: Keeping you posted

The Ancient Agora Museum in Athens houses a host of artifacts related to Athenian democracy, including a clepsydra, or water clock, which was used to impose time limits on speeches before tribunals and in political discourse in late fifth century B.C.

Democracy's voice

For the student teacher, bulletin board and project planner, and home schooler, a topic finder itemizes vending machines and suspension bridges under "mechanical," eohippus and maize under "agriculture," and the armillary, compass, and solar calendar under "astronomy." Curious students will gain perspective on world history from the time line, which places in order of invention such valuable entities as the numeral system, clepsydra, and encyclopedia.

Gilchrist, Kelvin K.: Inventions and Discoveries by People of Color

Their set will include hit songs Clepsydra (Hourglass) and Oniropagida (Dream Catcher).

Greek music with some stunning twists

Woodhull, Winifred (2006), "Monique Wittig Reconsidered," Clepsydra 5: 147-166.

Wittig on the semantics of grammatical gender

The section on time measurement features three essays: technological development from clepsydra to clock, the personal account of a court astrologer, and Ottoman clock towers.

Les Ottomans et le temps