AM VS PM: WHAT DO THESE TERMS REALLY MEAN?
What does AM and PM mean?
The AM stands for Ante Meridiem and the PM stands for Post. AM and PM are the most frequently used units whenever we check the time to communicate with others. However, we have no clue what these terms actually mean. We just know that it begins at night and pm begins at noon. For the first half of the day, we use am, and for the remaining twelve hours, we use pm.
What is the meaning of AM and PM?
AM is referred to as Ante meridiem and PM as the post meridiem. These are Latin expressions which mean before noon and afternoon. In other words, the twenty-four hour day is categorized into two categories: the hours that occur before noon and those after noon.
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What is the use of AM and PM?
We have two formats of clocks, i.e., 12 hours clock format and 24 hours clock format. Since we have 24 hours in a day, it’s easy to tell the time using a 24-hours format without using any format but in a 12 hours format, each number is repeated twice a day.
While determining the current time, it is not a big deal because it is simple to recognize if it is day or night. However, you must specify if it is 1p.m. or 1 a.m. when you need to record the time of an event for further purposes.
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Full form of AM and PM
A.M can be abbreviated as Ante Meridiem while after meridiem can be shortened to p.m. The abbreviations a.m. and p.m. have become popular due to the common use of the 12-hour clock system. These abbreviations are occasionally omitted when expressing a time.
We must judge for ourselves whether it is a.m. or p.m. based on the time context in these situations. For example, If someone asks us for dinner, we assume "dinner" to mean p.m.
What is the Origin of AM and PM?
AM and PM are Latin expressions. Am refers to "ante meridiem," which translates before noon in Latin. Additionally, PM refers to "post meridiem," which means "after midday."
As a result, a.m. is used for all hours that fall between 12 at the beginning of a new day and noon on that day. Additionally, the unit p.m. follows hours that fall after 12 o'clock in the afternoon.
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AM
In a 12-hour clock format, the unit used to denote hours that are before noon is ante meridiem. The total of these hours is twelve hours. They start at the first hour of the day, which is 12:00 am and continue till 11:59 am. It is the final hour of the morning, just before noon. It includes the early morning hours till noon and the entire night after 12 am.
PM
Pm is another unit of a 12-hour clock format which signifies the hours of days that fall in the afternoon. 12.00 pm is the exact time the first hour of the PM begins.
The second half of the day begins at this time. PM includes all afternoon, evening, and some nighttime hours. The day usually ends at 11:59 p.m., which is also the last clock time in the unit PM. When the clock reads 12 a.m., the start of a new day is marked once more.
The necessity of AM and PM
We had to create these abbreviations in the first place because of the 12-hour clock system. The day was split into two cycles based on day and night. These cycles consist of twelve hours each.
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In order to put this clock format into practice, a way has to be developed to differentiate these two cycles.
The reason why AM and PM were created. This inspired the design of the actual clocks and as a result, even though there are 24 hours in a day, a watch consists of only 12 numbers.
These units are not visible on an analogue clock. However, when it is set to a 12-hour clock format, the time is in AM or PM units on digital clocks, as well as clocks, computers and phones.
Conclusion
Ante meridiem and after meridiem are the complete abbreviations of AM and PM, respectively. AM and PM are employed to differentiate between two clock cycles in a 12-hour clock format. AM is used from the beginning of the day until noon. The PM hours begin at noon and last until the end of the day.
