A device for measuring time consisting of two glass bulbs connected by a narrow neck, with sand flowing from the upper to lower bulb.
The compound 'hourglass' appeared in English around 1515, but hourglasses themselves date to the 8th century. The word combines 'hour' (from Greek 'hora' meaning season or time) with 'glass.' Interestingly, early hourglasses didn't always measure exactly one hour - they came in various time intervals, but the one-hour version became so standard that it gave its name to the entire category of sand timers.
Medieval ships relied on hourglasses more than any other timepiece because they were the only clocks that worked reliably at sea - no pendulum to swing wildly, no springs to break in salt air! Sailors would literally 'turn the glass' every time it emptied, which is why ship watches were measured in 'glasses' turned.
Hourglass figure became gendered beauty ideal; associated with femininity and objectification of women's bodies rather than neutral timekeeping device.
Refer to the device without body-related metaphor; avoid 'hourglass figure' language entirely.
["sand timer","time measurement"]
Women's body diversity has been erased by narrow beauty standards. Real bodies are not decorative objects; reject hourglass-figure norms entirely.
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