What do AM and PM stand for?

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ESL forum > Ask for help > What do AM and PM stand for?

What do AM and PM stand for?

What do AM and PM stand for?

Hi, I have this student who actually asked me this. I told him that I was going to look for it since I haven �t thought of this before. I know in Spanish, AM stands for "antes meridiano" and PM "pasado meridiano" but I cannot make sense of this in English, since it should be according to the Spanish parameters BM "before meridian" and PM "post meridian".

I �d appreciate your help with this.

Thanks a lot.

Bere

5 Apr 2012

agagug

Hi there,

A.M. = Ante Meridian

P.M. = Post Meridian

5 Apr 2012

neusfalco

Yes AM is ante meridian which means before midday in Latin and PM is post Meridian which means after midday

5 Apr 2012

marcella8161

It is the latin version of what you wrote. AM=Ante Meridian (Before Noon) and PM=Post Meridian (After Noon). It is used when you tell the time. Since in English they generally use the 12 hours and not the 24 hours, it is specified if the, let �s say, 8 o �clock are in the morning (AM) or in the evening (PM)
This must not be confused with "Anti-Meridian" which is the 180th Meridian, East or West of the Prime Meridian, passing through the Royal Observatory of Greenwich.

5 Apr 2012

memthefirst

I call them "am : after midnight" and "pm : pre-midnight" so kids can remember more easily.

5 Apr 2012

Thank you so much. Now, I can answer to my student.

Bere

5 Apr 2012

ueslteacher

Dear Bere,

here �s a very nice free online dictionary which is an excellent reference when it comes to such matters, as the explanations there are very clear and simple: http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

Sophia

5 Apr 2012

yanogator

According to the link Sophia provided, and as I �ve always understood it, they are

ante meridiem and post meridiem in Latin.

Bruce

5 Apr 2012

moravc

AM = A.M. = a.m. = am = Ante Meridiem = before midday/noon in Latin
PM = A.M. = p.m. = pm = Post Meridiem = after midday/noon in Latin

"am : after midnight" and "pm : pre-midnight / past-midday" sounds like a wonderful mnemotechnic hint, thanks Memthefirst!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12-hour_clock

PS: meridiem=noon=midday x x x meridian of longitude (maps)

5 Apr 2012

REDBULL GIVES YOU WINGS YOU KNOW Wink

Wink

.

5 Apr 2012