sundial

American  

[suhn-dahy-uhl, -dahyl] / ˈsʌnˌdaɪ əl, -ˌdaɪl /

noun

1. an instrument that indicates the time of day by means of the position, on a graduated plate or surface, of the shadow of the gnomon as it is cast by the sun.

---

sundial British  

/ ˈsʌnˌdaɪəl /

noun

1. a device indicating the time during the hours of sunlight by means of a stationary arm (the gnomon ) that casts a shadow onto a plate or surface marked in hours

---

Etymology

Origin of sundial

First recorded in 1570–80; sun + dial

Example Sentences

The name gujeolpan refers to nine ingredients on a plate, with eight colorful vegetables or proteins sliced thinly and arrayed around the edge of plate, much like a mouth-watering sundial.

From Salon

There are secrets, a garden replete with a sundial and creepy statues and a house that traps its residents.

From The Wall Street Journal

As I squeezed the pedal harder, the animated speedometer—designed a bit like an Aztec sundial, with spiky points blooming around the center—grew in radiance.

From The Wall Street Journal

Place that shade on a sundial and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex could time her bakes to it with the utmost accuracy.

From Salon

“Our ancestors, always hurried,” she writes in “Angel in the Forest,” “left little evidence of their existence, if one discounts intangibles, a sundial, an apple a day, an angel in the forest.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• timer