Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The science of measuring time.
  • noun The art of making timepieces.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A contrivance for measuring time; a timepiece.
  • noun In the Gr. Ch., an office-book containing the offices for the canonical hours, from matins (mesonycticon) to complin (apodeipnon) inclusive, as well as antiphons, hymns, etc., from the menology and other books, some short occasional offices, and several canons of odes. Generally the calendar is prefixed.
  • noun The science of measuring time, or the principles and art of constructing, regulating, testing, etc., machines for indicating divisions of time, as clocks and watches.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The science of measuring time, or the principles and art of constructing instruments for measuring and indicating portions of time, as clocks, watches, dials, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The art, science and technology of timekeeping and timekeepers, such as clocks, watches and sundials.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the art of designing and making clocks

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek hōrā, hour, season; see yēr- in Indo-European roots + –logy.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin horologia, from hora + -logia

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Examples

  • On an unseasonably warm December afternoon 10 years ago tomorrow, everyone who was anyone in the obsessive world of watch collecting-formally known as horology-packed Sotheby's seventh-floor, wood-paneled auction gallery in New York.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2009

  • Until the 1950s, when the first highly accurate atomic clocks were built, the day was simply determined by the rotation of the Earth, said Jonathan Betts, senior curator of horology at the Royal Observatory.

    Time running out for 'leap second' that has kept us in step with our slowing planet 2012

  • There are numerous museums and libraries around the world devoted to horology and time-keeping instruments.

    Review of Tinkers by Paul Harding 2010

  • "London had a fantastic reputation of being the world center of horology, to the point where watchmakers in Switzerland and Germany were writing London on their watches, because that's what sold," says David Thompson, curator of horology at the British Museum.

    Big Time: The British Pocket Watch Jonathon Keats 2010

  • Attention horology fans: here's the podcast you're looking for, courtesy of Ariel Adams and John Biggs.

    New watch podcast: HourTime Show - Boing Boing 2009

  • But one remarkable timepiece in the Clockmakers 'possession is easily overlooked amid the treasures comprising the world's oldest and finest horology museum.

    Big Time: The British Pocket Watch Jonathon Keats 2010

  • Today, the 51-year-old drug developer works in Singapore, where he manages a horology enthusiasts' website on the side, called ThePuristSPro.com , which was started in 2006.

    A Collector's Pendulum Javier Espinoza 2011

  • But the British reputation as the world center of horology rested principally on innovation.

    Big Time: The British Pocket Watch Jonathon Keats 2010

  • The horology establishment would not budge even if you offered them far more than the fees charged by the organizers.

    Taking On the Big Boys Ken Kessler 2010

  • The horology establishment would not budge even if you offered them far more than the fees charged by the organizers.

    Taking On the Big Boys Ken Kessler 2010

Comments

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  • The study of time and timepieces.

    March 6, 2007

  • Not to be confused with whorology.

    March 7, 2007

  • Absolutely!

    November 5, 2007