hour

A1 Topic:Time

US /aʊɚ/ UK /aʊə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

our /ˈaʊə(ɹ)/

Freq #565

Meanings

1

noun
A period of time lasting sixty minutes.

The journey will take more than an hour.
2

noun
A particular point in time shown by a clock.

The hour is getting late, so I must go home.
3

noun
A special or important moment in time.

Winning the award was her finest hour.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a period of time lasting... hr

2 noun · a particular point in time... time of day

Word family

Forms hours

Derived forms amp-hourampere-hourby-hourdinner-houreleventh-hourf-hourflexihoursflower-of-an-hourgigawatt-hourgirl-hourh-hourhalf-hour

Appears in

Phrases (9)

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long hours
extended or excessive periods of time spent working

Adjective + noun
spend an hour
to use an hour doing a particular activity

Verb + noun
take an hour
to require one hour in duration

Verb + noun
early hours
the first hours after midnight; very early in the morning

Adjective + noun
rush hour
the busiest time of day when many people travel, causing heavy traffic

Adjective + noun
waste an hour
to use an hour unproductively or without purpose

Verb + noun

Proverbs (3)

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Simplified etymology

Hour entered Middle English through French and ultimately derives from Greek hōra, “season” or “hour.” It is distantly related to year; the native Old English equivalent was tide.

Etymology

From Middle English houre, hour, oure, from Old French houre, from Latin hōra (“hour”), from Ancient Greek ὥρα (hṓra, “any time or period, whether of the year, month, or day”), from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”). Akin to Old English ġēar (“year”). Doublet of hora and year. Compare horary. Partly displaced native Old English tīd (“time, hour”), whence Modern English tide.

*(H)yeh₁- Proto-Indo-European houre Middle English hōra Latin ὥρα Ancient Greek *yóh₁r̥ Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time

External links

# hour

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /aʊɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /aʊə/
**Frequency rank:** 565

## Meanings
1. A period of time lasting sixty minutes.
2. A particular point in time shown by a clock.
3. A special or important moment in time.

## Examples
- The journey will take more than an hour.
- The hour is getting late, so I must go home.
- Winning the award was her finest hour.

## Derived Forms
- amp-hour
- ampere-hour
- by-hour
- dinner-hour
- eleventh-hour
- f-hour
- flexihours
- flower-of-an-hour
- gigawatt-hour
- girl-hour
- h-hour
- half-hour

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(H)yeh₁-
- Root: houre
- Root: hōra
- Root: ὥρα
- Root: *yóh₁r̥

## Etymology
From Middle English houre, hour, oure, from Old French houre, from Latin hōra (“hour”), from Ancient Greek ὥρα (hṓra, “any time or period, whether of the year, month, or day”), from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”). Akin to Old English ġēar (“year”). Doublet of hora and year. Compare horary. Partly displaced native Old English tīd (“time, hour”), whence Modern English tide.

## AI Etymology
Hour comes from Middle English houre, hour, oure, from Old French houre, from Latin hōra (“hour”), from Ancient Greek ὥρα (hṓra, “any time or period, whether of the year, month, or day”), from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”). Akin to Old English ġēar (“year”). Doublet of hora and year. Compare horary. Partly displaced native Old English tīd (“time, hour”), whence Modern English tide. The historical line also includes *(H)yeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “A period of time lasting sixty minutes” and “A particular point in time shown by a clock”.

## Topics
- Time

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