clepsydra

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The Word of the Day for April 3 is:

clepsydra   \KLEP-suh-druh\   noun
     : water clock

Example sentence:
      "Maybe we should reintroduce the ancient Greek practice of timing 
political speeches with clepsydra -- when the water is gone, the oration is 
over," suggested Alfie.

Did you know?
     In ancient times the sun was used to measure time during the day, but 
sundials weren?t much help after dark, so peoples around the world invented 
clocks that used dripping water to mark the hours. In one kind of water clock, 
possibly invented by the Chaldeans, a vessel was filled with water that was 
allowed to escape through a hole. The vessel's inside was marked with graduated 
lines, and the time was read by measuring the level of the remaining water. The 
ancient Greeks called their water clocks "klepsydra" ("water thief"), which 
comes from "kleptein" ("to steal") and "hydor" ("water"). English speakers 
stole "clepsydra" from the Greeks in the 16th century, but actual water clocks 
have become increasingly rare. 



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