What is a dial: the meaning of the word

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What is a dial: the meaning of the word
What is a dial: the meaning of the word

Video: What is a dial: the meaning of the word

Video: What is a dial: the meaning of the word
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At first it seems that the answer is simpler than a steamed turnip, and even a five-year-old child knows what a clock face is. He would say that this is a circle on the clock, on which the hand moves, indicating the time. This is true, but not only chronometers have a dial.

Wall dial
Wall dial

Etymology

The word is borrowed and comes from the German Zifferblatt. It consists of two words - Ziffer (number, number) and Blatt (leaf). This lexeme came to Russian in the second half of the 19th century. Here it is already written without doubled consonants at the base of the word. Also, in the nominative case, the word consists of two morphemes - the root "dial" and the zero ending.

What is a clock face: definition

Dial is a device panel for counting something. This can apply to both mechanical and electronic devices. If we talk about the clock face, then it is designed to visually display the counted time. In other words, it helps you navigate what time it is.

This word is also used in relation to such measuring instruments as a barometer, manometer, tonometer, etc.

Whatclock face
Whatclock face

What is a dial and what does it consist of

Any dial of a mechanical or quartz watch assumes the presence of one or more hands, while electronic ones do not need them, there are only numbers. At the moment, hundreds of models have been developed by designers. Therefore, they can not only fulfill their functional role, but also be distinctive elements of the interior. According to the type of design, there are wall, floor, table, fireplace, pocket, wrist dials. This affects the size (for example, the famous chimes are 6 m in diameter, and watches can be less than 1 cm).

Another difference is how the numbers are displayed. They can be performed in Arabic and Roman styles, or even replaced with sticks or dots.

watch face
watch face

Sometimes only the main ones are indicated (3, 6, 9, 12), which divide the hour into four quarters. For a more accurate determination of time, dials with 60 divisions (most often in the form of dots) are produced, which show seconds.

Fans of minimalism will like such models where there are no divisions at all, and to understand what time it is, you need to navigate by the position of the arrows and remember that 12 is on top and 6 on the bottom.

Electronic clocks are less diverse: as a rule, only 4 digits are displayed on the screen, for example, 17:45.

If we talk about the barometer dial, then, in addition to numbers, there can also be words ("clear", "dry", "rain"), which are accompanied by pictures. They convey the necessary information about the stateatmospheric pressure in a simple and understandable way.

Synonyms

The word "clock" is used in a broad sense. Sometimes you can meet the nouns "screen", "display", but it all depends on the context. To summarize, the dial is mainly associated with the image of numbers. And the above words can refer to a computer monitor, a tablet, and other devices, which show not only numerical values.

And what is a "dial" in a figurative sense? In an ironic sense, this word is used instead of the nouns "face", "physiognomy".

Knowing these subtleties will help expand your vocabulary and become more savvy in the correct use of words.

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