Standard Time Was Invented for the Railways
Time is the continuing progress of existence. Clocks were only synchronised across regions when trains demanded it.
Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events. Until the nineteenth century every town kept its own clock by the sun, so noon in Bristol fell about ten minutes after noon in London. Railways made that intolerable: timetables were impossible without a shared standard, and British companies adopted London time in the 1840s, decades before it became law. *Time* is Old English *tima*, from a root meaning to divide, the same idea behind *tide*.
- Duration. *A long time.*
- An occasion. *Three times.*
- To measure duration. *Timing the race.*
- Tide — a relative. *Christmastide.*
- Old English — *tima*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | time | Time. |
| Verb | time | Timing. |
| Adjective | timely | Timely. |
| Related | tide | A tide. |
| Old English | tima | Time. |
- We ran out of time.Duration.
- Railways forced a standard.History.
- He timed the lap.Verb.
How railway time spread
- Local solar time varied by minutes between towns
- Timetables became unworkable across a network
- British railways adopted London time from 1840
- Some town clocks showed two minute hands during the transition
- Legal standard time in Britain came only in 1880
Old English *tima*, of Germanic origin, from a root meaning to divide, related to *tide*.
Why was standard time introduced?
Because railway timetables were impossible when every town kept its own solar time. British railways adopted London time from the 1840s.
Are time and tide related?
Yes. Both come from a root meaning to divide, and tide originally meant a period of time.