timepiece
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]timepiece (plural timepieces)
- A chronometer (any device used to tell the time of day), particularly a clock lacking a chime or similar sounding mechanism.
- The only timepiece she allowed in the house was a sundial. She usually kept the curtains pulled.
- 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 163:
- An interesting feature of the church is the invisible clock, which you can hear thumping away as you enter. Constructed in 1525, it is one of the oldest timepieces in England. It chimes the hours and the quarters, and every three hours it plays a hymn. But it has no faces.
- A watch (a small portable device used to tell the time of day), particularly one lacking a chime or similar sounding mechanism.
- His pocket watch was a beautiful timepiece.
Usage notes
[edit]In informal use, the presence of piece in the term timepiece causes many speakers to exclude large timekeeping devices such as wallclocks and grandfather clocks. In formal use, some speakers—particularly professional horologists and collectors—use the word clock to refer only to timekeeping devices that include a bell, chimes, or other mechanism to announce the passage of time. The term timepiece is then restricted to timekeeping devices (large or small) that lack such a mechanism.
Translations
[edit]timekeeping device lacking a chime or striking mechanism
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