Gene: Close, but no cigar: am is ante (not anti) meridiem and pm is post meridiem.
Ante means before. Anti means against. Compare with antebellum, which is used to identify the era prior to the Civil War, or with ante-natal, which is the non-American-English equivalent of prenatal. Bill ________________________________ Bill Potts, FBCS WFP Consulting 1848 Hidden Hills Drive Roseville, CA 95661-5804 Phone: 916 773-3865 (preferred) Cell: 916 302-7176 Excellence matters -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 08:53 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:42853] Re: Hot and dry am is "anti meridian" (before crossing of overhead sun). pm is "post meridian" (after crossing of overhead sun). That is the meaning of am and pm; originating with early astronomers I suppose. Gene. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 21:24:15 -0000 >From: "Martin Vlietstra" <[email protected]> >Subject: [USMA:42840] Re: Hot and dry >To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> >... > > BTW, how many people know how we got "am" and "pm" > (without looking it up)
