water clock

American  

noun

1. a device, as a clepsydra, for measuring time by the flow of water.

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water clock British  

noun

1. any of various devices for measuring time that use the escape of water as the motive force

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Etymology

Origin of water clock

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

water clock

It’s a water clock, based on a constant flow of water, but it’s a mechanical device.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 28, 2022

That tells you that it was a water clock because they’re going there to fill up buckets to put the fire out.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 28, 2022

On the left side the Dutch physicist Christian Huyghens is depicted demonstrating the first pendulum clock, which he invented in 1656, and on the right side there is a Roman senator holding a water clock.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2020

An entire room is devoted to blown-up photographs of the Chinese zodiac animal heads that once adorned an elaborate water clock fountain designed by Benoit.

From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2010

There is, alas, nothing to tell us about the clock it was intended to house; most probably it was a water clock similar to that of the illustrated Bible of ca.

From On the Origin of Clockwork, Perpetual Motion Devices, and the Compass by Price, Derek J. de Solla (Derek John de Solla)