What does am and pm stand for

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Esther A

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Jul 28, 2022
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What does am and pm stand for

What does the abbreviation am and pm stand for


Am and Pm are both abbreviations which stand for a particular period of the day. They are related to a 24 hour clock of the day. The time in a day is divided into Am and Pm. The 12 hour clock divides the day into these two periods of time or intervals. Am has 12 hours and likewise Pm also has its own 12 hours of the day.

A day has 24 hours and each hour is made up of 60 minutes. This means a day has 1440 minutes. Each time interval has 720 minutes each. Am has 720 and Pm also has 720 minutes.



what does Am stand for

The abbreviation Am is the short form of a Latin word which is ‘ante meridiem’. This Latin word means ‘before noon’ in English language. It could also be translated to ‘before midday’.

This refers to the time frame from the early hours of the day which is midnight until its noon in the day. This starts from 12am to 11:59am in the morning. Am is basically just morning time in the day.

Examples are 4am, 8am, 10am and 11:50am in the morning.



What does Pm stand for

The abbreviation Pm stands for a Latin word ‘post meridiem’ which can be translated to mean ‘after noon’ or ‘after midday’ in English language. This is from midday until midnight. The Pm starts from 12noon till 11:59 pm in the day.

Examples are 2pm, 6pm and 11pm.



What does pm and am stand for in time.

From the above definitions we can understand that Am which is ‘ante meridiem’ stands for morning hours and it is the time before the sun crosses the meridian while Pm which stands for ‘post meridiem’ is the time after the sun crosses the meridian which is afternoon, evening or night.

Once the clock passes midnight, the time has shifted to Am once again and another day has started. A day consist of both Am and Pm and after this cycle is complete, a new day begins with Am again.

Once the clock strikes 12 noon, the sun is over the meridian and it means it is at its highest point in the sky.

The ‘m’ in the abbreviation stands for meridien which is a Latin word. That simply means midday.

You can simply explain am to mean after midnight. Once the clock moves beyond midnight then it is morning meaning it is am. In actual terms, midnight actually signifies the start of a new day and that’s why Midnight is usually referred to as 12am in the morning.

One misconception when it comes to time is that people believe midnight is still at night but in actual terms is the start of another day.

The date of a day changes as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

When the clock strikes 12 either a.m or p.m you use Noon or Midnight.


What time is evening

Usually, the time between 5pm and 9pm is known as evening. From 12 noon to 5pm is usually referred to as afternoon.