Noon Used to Be Three in the Afternoon
Noon is midday. For centuries it named the ninth hour, which fell much later.
Noon is twelve o'clock in the middle of the day. It began as Latin *nona hora*, the ninth hour, counted from dawn — roughly three in the afternoon, the time of a monastic prayer service. The hour drifted earlier over the centuries, probably because the fast before that service ended with it and people were keen to eat, and by the fourteenth century *noon* had settled at midday. The word for the meal drifted with it, which is why some dialects still call the midday meal dinner.
- Midday. *At noon.*
- The ninth hour (archaic). *Nona hora.*
- Afternoon. *The afternoon.*
- High noon. *High noon.*
- Latin — *nonus*, ninth. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | noon | Noon. |
| Adjective | noonday | The noonday sun. |
| Compound | afternoon | The afternoon. |
| Compound | forenoon | The forenoon. |
| Latin | nonus | Ninth. |
- We met at noon.Time.
- It once meant the ninth hour.History.
- The noonday sun.Adjective.
The monastic hours
- Prime — the first hour, around dawn
- Terce — the third hour, mid-morning
- Sext — the sixth hour, midday
- None — the ninth hour, mid-afternoon, which became noon
- Vespers — evening prayer
Old English *non*, from Latin *nona hora*, the ninth hour.
Why does noon come from a word meaning ninth?
It named the ninth hour after dawn, about three in the afternoon. The hour drifted earlier until it settled at midday.
Why do some people call the midday meal dinner?
Because the main meal followed the ninth-hour service, and the meal name drifted earlier along with the hour.