The 12-hour clock is a time convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods: a.m. (from Latin ante meridiem, translating to "before midday") and p.m. (from Latin post meridiem, translating to "after midday"). Each period consists of 12 hours numbered: 12 (acting as 0), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The 12-hour clock has been developed since the second millennium BC and reached its modern form in the 16th century.
The 12-hour time convention is common in several English-speaking nations and former British colonies, as well as a few other countries. There is no widely accepted convention for how midday and midnight should be represented: in English-speaking countries, "12 p.m." indicates 12 o'clock noon, while "12 a.m." means 12 o'clock midnight.
History and use
The natural day-and-night division of a calendar...
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