Clocked

/klɑkt/ verb

Definition

To measure or record the speed or time of something; also means to hit or punch someone.

Etymology

From 'clock,' which comes from Middle Dutch 'clocke' (a bell), since early clocks were primarily bells that rang. The verb emerged when mechanical clocks became common in the 1500s-1600s.

Kelly Says

The double meaning of 'clocked'—both 'measured time' and 'hit'—might come from the sound of a clock ticking like a punch, or from the idea that you'd clock someone and they'd be 'out of time,' but the exact connection has been lost to history.

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