Definition
An ancient timekeeping device that shows time by the position of a shadow cast by the sun onto a marked surface.
Etymology
A straightforward compound of 'sun' plus 'dial,' but 'dial' comes from Latin 'dialis' meaning 'daily,' from 'dies' (day). The word 'dial' originally meant anything related to a day or daily cycle before it became associated with the face of timepieces. Sundials are humanity's oldest scientific instruments, used by Babylonians around 1500 BCE, though the English compound 'sundial' only appeared in the 1600s.
Kelly Says
The 'dial' in sundial doesn't come from dialing a phone - it means 'daily thing'! These ancient timepieces were so fundamental to human civilization that they helped establish our concepts of hours, and many sundials bore inscriptions like 'I count only sunny hours,' refusing to acknowledge cloudy days.
Translations
ARالعربية
سundial
suhn-dee-al
BNবাংলা
সূর্য ঘড়ি
soo-ro-y gh-ree
CACatalà
sundial
sun-dee-al
CSČeština
solární hodiny
so-la-rni-e ho-dy
DEDeutsch
Sonnenuhr
zon-nen-uhr
ELΕλληνικά
ήλιαρο
ee-lee-ah-ro
ESEspañol
reloj de sol
reh-lohk deh sol
FAفارسی
سundial
suhn-dee-al
FISuomi
aurinkokello
au-rin-ko-kel-lo
FRFrançais
sundial
sun-dee-al
GUGU
સૂર્ય કલ્પ
soo-ry kalp
HEעברית
שעון שמש
she-on she-mesh
HIहिन्दी
सूर्य घड़ी
soo-ry gh-dee
HUMagyar
napsugáróra
naps-u-gar-ora
IDBahasa Indonesia
jam matahari
jam ma-ta-hari
ITItaliano
orologio solare
or-lo-zhi-o so-la-reh
KO한국어
태양시계
tae-yang-si-gye
MSBahasa Melayu
jam matahari
jam ma-ta-hari
MYမြန်မာ
နေရောင်ခြေ
nay-ya-ung-h-ye
NLNederlands
zonne klok
zon-ne klohk
PLPolski
zegar słoneczny
zheh-gar slon-chech-ny
PTPortuguês
relógio de sol
reh-loh-ghoo deh sol
RORomână
ceas solar
cheas so-lar
RUРусский
солнечные часы
sol-nech-nye cha-sy
SWKiswahili
saa la mchana
saa la m-cha-na
TAதமிழ்
சூரியக் கடிகாரம்
soo-ri-yak ka-di-ka-ram
TEతెలుగు
సూర్య క్షణం
soo-ryya ksh-na-m
THไทย
นาฬิกาอาทิตย์
nah-lee-ka a-tit
TRTürkçe
güneş saati
goo-neh-sh sah-tee
UKУкраїнська
сонячний годинник
so-niy-chniy go-din-nik
URاردو
سundial
suhn-dee-al
VITiếng Việt
đồng hồ mặt trời
dong-ho mat-troi
ZUZU
iSundial
ee-sun-dee-al