time

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See also: Time, timé, tìme, and -time

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English tyme, time, from Old English tīma (“time, period, space of time, season, lifetime, fixed time, favourable time, opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīmō, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- (“to divide”). Cognate with Scots tym, tyme (“time”), Alemannic German Zimen, Zīmmän (“time, time of the year, opportune time, opportunity”), Danish time (“hour, lesson”), Swedish timme (“hour”), Norwegian time (“time, hour”), Faroese tími (“hour, lesson, time”), Icelandic tími (“time, season”). Related to tide. Not related to Latin tempus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

time (countable and uncountable, plural times)

  1. (uncountable) The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
    Time stops for nobody.   the ebb and flow of time
    • 1937, Delmore Schwartz, Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day‎[2]:
      Time is the fire in which we burn.
    • 2023 May 26, Zelenskyy, Volodymyr, Zelenskyy surprises the Johns Hopkins commencement ceremony‎[3], MSNBC, archived from the original on 2023-05-26, 0:40 from the start:
      One of the most common truisms on Earth is the advice to value or at least not waste time. Why has it become so widespread? Every person eventually realizes that time is the most valuable resource on the planet. Not oil or uranium. Not lithium or anything else, but time. Time. The very flow of time convinces us of this. Some people realize this sooner, and these are the lucky ones. Others realize it too late when they lose someone or something. People cannot avoid it, this is just a matter of time. But there is a fundamental difference that comes down to the question of time. The time of your life is under your control. The time of life of our force on the front line, the time of life of all Ukrainians who are forced to live through this terrible Russian aggression unfortunately is subject to many factors that are not all in their control. I do not wish anyone to feel like they are in my shoes, and it's impossible to give a manual on how to go through life so as not to waste time. However, one piece of advice always works. You have to know exactly why you need today and how you want your tomorrows to look like.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:time
    1. (physics, usually uncountable) A dimension of spacetime with the opposite metric signature to space dimensions; the fourth dimension.
      Both science-fiction writers and physicists have written about travel through time.
      • 1895 May 7, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, The Time Machine: An Invention, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 35:
        So long as I travelled at a high velocity through time, this scarcely mattered; I was, so to speak, attenuated — was slipping like a vapour through the interstices of intervening substances!
      • 2010, Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 204:
        We all have a visceral understanding of what it means for the universe to have multiple space dimensions, since we live in a world in which we constantly deal with a plurality — three. But what would it mean to have multiple times? Would one align with time as we presently experience it psychologically while the other would somehow be "different"?
    2. (physics, uncountable) Change associated with the second law of thermodynamics; the physical and psychological result of increasing entropy.
      Time slows down when you approach the speed of light.
      • 2012, Robert Zwilling, Natural Sciences and Human Thought, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 80:
        Eventually time would also die because no processes would continue, no light would flow.
      • 2015, Highfield, Arrow Of Time, Random House →ISBN
        Given the connection between increasing entropy and the arrow of time, does the Big Crunch mean that time would run backwards as soon as collapse began?
    3. (physics, uncountable, reductionist definition) The property of a system which allows it to have more than one distinct configuration.
      An essential definition of time should entail neither speed nor direction, just change.
  2. A duration of time.
    1. (uncountable) A quantity of availability of duration.
      More time is needed to complete the project.   You had plenty of time, but you waited until the last minute.   Are you finished yet? Time’s up!
      • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond‎[4]:
        During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]
    2. (countable) A measurement of a quantity of time; a numerical or general indication of a length of progression.
      a long time;  Record the individual times for the processes in each batch.   Only your best time is compared with the other competitors.   The algorithm runs in O(n2) time.
      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
        I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.
      • 1938, Richard Hughes, In Hazard:
        The shock of the water, of course, woke him, and he swam for quite a time.
    3. (uncountable, slang) The serving of a prison sentence.
      • 1994, Dana Stabenow, A Cold-Blooded Business, →ISBN, page 64:
        Arrested on duty at Fort Richardson, both parents had worked hard at blaming the other for their son's death, but Kate's meticulous recording of the detail of the bruising found on the child's body and the physical evidence surrounding the scene, plus patient, painstaking interviews with neighbors above and below stairs had resulted in time for both.
      The judge leniently granted a sentence with no hard time.   He is not living at home because he is doing time.
    4. (countable) An experience.
      We had a wonderful time at the party.
    6. (countable) An era; (with the, sometimes in plural) the current era, the current state of affairs.
      Roman times;  the time of the dinosaurs;  how things were at that time;  how things were in those times
      • 63 BC, (Can we date this quote by Cicero and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?), First Oration against Catiline (translation)
        O the times, O the customs!
      • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
        The time is out of joint
      • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Eden Prime:
        Dr. Manuel: You're wasting your time. The age of humanity is over. Our extinction is inevitable.[...]
        Shepard: I don't have time for this.
        Dr. Manuel: Time? Our time is over.
    7. (uncountable, with possessive) A person's youth or young adulthood, as opposed to the present day.
      In my time, we respected our elders.
    8. (only in singular, sports and figuratively) Time out; temporary, limited suspension of play.
  3. An instant of time.
    1. (uncountable) How much of a day has passed; the moment, as indicated by a clock or similar device.
      Excuse me, have you got the time?   What time is it, do you guess? Ten o’clock?   A computer keeps time using a clock battery.
      • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
        Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
    2. (countable) A particular moment or hour; the appropriate moment or hour for something (especially with prepositional phrase or imperfect subjunctive).
      it’s time for bed;  it’s time to sleep;  we must wait for the right time;  it's time we were going
      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
        The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.
      • 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:
        It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today – with America standing out in the forefront and the UK not far behind.
    3. (countable) A numerical indication of a particular moment.
      at what times do the trains arrive?;  these times were erroneously converted between zones
    5. (countable) An instance or occurrence.
      When was the last time we went out? I don’t remember.
      see you another time;  that’s three times he’s made the same mistake
      Okay, but this is the last time. No more after that!
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
        Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
      • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
        One more time.
        Audio (US)(file)
    6. (UK, in public houses) Closing time.
      Last call: it's almost time.
    7. The hour of childbirth.
    8. (as someone's time) The end of someone's life, conceived by the speaker as having been predestined.
      It was his time.
  4. (countable) The measurement under some system of region of day or moment.
    Let's synchronize our watches so we're not on different time.
  5. (countable) Ratio of comparison.
    your car runs three times faster than mine;  that is four times as heavy as this
  6. (grammar, dated) Tense.
    the time of a verb
    • 1823, Lindley Murray, Key to the Exercises Adapted to Murray's English Grammar, Fortland, page 53f:
      Though we have, in the notes under the thirteenth rule of the Grammar, explained in general the principles, on which the time of a verb in the infinitive mood may be ascertained, and its form determined; [...]
    • 1829, Benjamin A. Gould, Adam's Latin Grammar, Boston, page 153:
      The participles of the future time active, and perfect passive, when joined with the verb esse, were sometimes used as indeclinable; thus, [...]
  7. (music) The measured duration of sounds; measure; tempo; rate of movement; rhythmical division.
    common or triple time;   the musician keeps good time.
  8. (slang, MLE) Clipping of a long time.
    • 2019 September 15, “Wiley Flow”, in Heavy Is The Head‎[5], performed by Stormzy:
      I used to pay for things but that was time ago.
      2022 March 18, Ronan Bennett, Gerry Jackson, Tyrone Rashard, Sagirah Gammon; Brady Hood, director, chapter 1, in Top Boy(Good Morals) (4), spoken by girl called B, 00:38:33 from the start:
      Ats' mum is looking for him, says he ain't been back in time
      2023 January 15, Layton Williams; Freddy Syborn, director, chapter 3, in Bad Education(Prison) (4), spoken by Inchez (Anthony J. Abraham), 12:51 from the start:
      INCHEZ:Man this is long! We've been in here for time!
    Synonyms: ages, long

Usage notes[edit]

For the number of occurrences and the ratio of comparison, once and twice are typically used instead of one time and two times. Thrice is uncommon but not obsolescent, and is still common in Indian English.[1]

Typical collocations with time or time expressions.

  • spend - To talk about the length of time of an activity.
- We spent a long time driving along the motorway.
- I've spent most of my life working here. (Time expression)
  • take - To talk about the length of time of an activity.
- It took a long time to get to the front of the queue. See also - take one's time
- It only takes five minutes to get to the shop from here. (Time expression)
- How long does it take to do that? (Time expression)

Quotations[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Hyponyms of time (proper names)
Other hyponyms of time

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Terms related to time that are not nouns

Descendants[edit]

  • Sranan Tongo: ten

Translations[edit]

See time/translations § Noun.

Verb[edit]

time (third-person singular simple present times, present participle timing, simple past and past participle timed)

  1. To measure or record the time, duration, or rate of.
    I used a stopwatch to time myself running around the block.
  2. To choose when something begins or how long it lasts.
    The President timed his speech badly, coinciding with the Super Bowl.
    The bomb was timed to explode at 9:20 p.m.
    • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the chapter)”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
      There is surely no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things.
  3. (obsolete) To keep or beat time; to proceed or move in time.
  4. (obsolete) To pass time; to delay.
  5. To regulate as to time; to accompany, or agree with, in time of movement.
  6. To measure, as in music or harmony.

Synonyms[edit]

  • (to measure time): clock
  • (to choose the time for): set

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Interjection[edit]

time

  1. (tennis) Reminder by the umpire for the players to continue playing after their pause.
  2. The umpire's call in prizefights, etc.
  3. A call by a bartender to warn patrons that the establishment is closing and no more drinks will be served.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ James Lambert, 2012, 'Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis' World Englishes Vol. 31, issue 1, page 112-127. [1]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), cognate with Swedish timme, English time. From Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-, specifically Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō. The Germanic noun *tīdiz (“time”) is derived from the same root.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈtiːmə/, [ˈtˢiːmə], [ˈtsʰiːm̩]

Noun[edit]

time c (singular definite timen, plural indefinite timer)

  1. hour
  2. lesson, class
Declension[edit]
Declension of time
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative time timen timer timerne
genitive times timens timers timernes

References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from English time.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /tajmə/, [ˈtˢɑjmə], (imperative) IPA(key): /tajˀm/, [ˈtˢɑjˀm],

Verb[edit]

time (past tense timede, past participle timet)

  1. to time
Conjugation[edit]
Inflection of time
present past
simple timer timede
perfect har timet havde timet
passive times timedes
participle - timet
imperative time —
infinitive time —
auxiliary verb have —
gerund — —

References[edit]

Esperanto[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From tim- +‎ -e.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

time

  1. fearfully

Latin[edit]

Verb[edit]

timē

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of timeō

References[edit]

  • “time”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Noun[edit]

time

  1. Alternative form of tyme (“time”)

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

time

  1. Alternative form of tyme (“thyme”)

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-, specifically Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō.

Noun[edit]

time m (definite singular timen, indefinite plural timer, definite plural timene)

  1. an hour
  2. a lesson, class

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from *deh₂y- (“to share, divide”). Akin to English time.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

time m (definite singular timen, indefinite plural timar, definite plural timane)

  1. an hour
  2. a lesson, class
  3. an appointment
    Eg har ein time hjå tannlegen. ― I have an appointment at the dentists.
  4. time, moment (mainly poetic)
    • 1945, Jakob Sande, Da Daniel drog:
      No er timen komen, Daniel!
      Now the time has come, Daniel!

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Old Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô.

Noun[edit]

tīme m

  1. time
  2. hour
  3. occasion

Declension[edit]

Declension of tīme (an-stem)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative tīme tīmen tīmar tīmarnir
accusative tīma tīman tīma tīmana
dative tīma tīmanom tīmom tīmonom
genitive tīma tīmans tīma tīmanna

Descendants[edit]

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English team.

Pronunciation[edit]

 

  • Hyphenation: ti‧me

Noun[edit]

time m (plural times)

  1. (Brazil, chiefly sports) a team
    Synonyms: (Portugal) equipa, (Brazil) equipe
  2. (Brazil, informal) sexual orientation

Scots[edit]

Noun[edit]

time (plural times)

  1. time

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

tíme (Cyrillic spelling ти́ме)

  1. masculine/neuter instrumental singular of tȃj

Spanish[edit]

Verb[edit]

time

  1. inflection of timar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
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