>Noon itself derives originally from "nine" or the ninth hour after >sunrise (probaby 3pm :-) and not when it is apparently highest in the sky.
Now isn't that interesting. By coincidence or not, the noon hour on old Japanese dials and clocks is 9. There are a couple of math models that explain this but the origin of this counting system is not known. ++ron ----- Original Message ----- From: "MMB" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <sundial@rrz.uni-koeln.de> Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 3:30 PM Subject: Re: High Noon > > Mac Oglesby wrote: > > > > Now and then I run across the phrase "High Noon." Can someone please > > tell me what that means? I didn't find it in John Davis' excellent > > glossary. > > > I can find no straightforward response. But try these. > Writers say: > <http://www.writersblock.ca/spring99/a-origin.htm> > > "High noon has long been associated with a crisis or confrontation. The > classic western film of that name is not the origin, however. The term > has been used this way in English literature since the 14th century." > > I have found online references to "high noon" referring specifically to > Midsummer's Day or St John's Day (24th June) when the sun is apparently > at the highest point for some days. (Druids, Masons). > > The dictionary also says "high" has come to mean important as in "high > priest". > > Noon itself derives originally from "nine" or the ninth hour after > sunrise (probaby 3pm :-) and not when it is apparently highest in the sky. > > Well... you asked, Mac! > > Maria Brandl > Mallacoota > > 37° 32' 60S > 149° 45' 0E > > - -
