Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Clepsydra
Clep′sy-dra
(?; 277)
, Noun.
[L. from Gr. [GREEK]; [GREEK] to steal, conceal + [GREEK] water.]
A water clock; a contrivance for measuring time by the graduated flow of a liquid, as of water, through a small aperture. See Illust. in
Appendix
. Webster 1828 Edition
Clepsydra
CLEPSYDRA
, n.1.
A time piece used by the Greeks and Romans, which measured time by the discharge of a certain quantity of water. Also, a fountain in Greece.2.
A chimical vessel.Definition 2024
clepsydra
clepsydra
See also: Clepsydra
English
Alternative forms
Noun
clepsydra (plural clepsydras or clepsydrae)
- A water clock, especially as used in the ancient world.
- 1953, John Wyndham, The Kraken Wakes, page 124
- "The dull, unflavoured drops from life's clepsydra".
- 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 856:
- They sat among the choiring clepsydras of the evening garden, time elapsing in a dozen ways, allowing their cigars to go out, keeping a companionable silence.
- 1953, John Wyndham, The Kraken Wakes, page 124
Translations
A water clock
Anagrams
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα (klepsúdra, “pipette, water clock”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈkle.psy.dra/, [ˈkɫɛ.psʏ.dra]
Noun
clepsydra f (genitive clepsydrae); first declension
Inflection
First declension.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | clepsydra | clepsydrae |
| genitive | clepsydrae | clepsydrārum |
| dative | clepsydrae | clepsydrīs |
| accusative | clepsydram | clepsydrās |
| ablative | clepsydrā | clepsydrīs |
| vocative | clepsydra | clepsydrae |
Descendants
- English: clepsydra
- Italian: clessidra
References
- clepsydra in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- clepsydra in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- CLEPSYDRA in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “clepsydra”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
- clepsydra in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia
- clepsydra in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- clepsydra in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin