twelve noon
2
1.0
- noun
- /twɛlv nuːn/
:
mediodía
- Suppose we put one of these bacteria into an empty bottle at eleven in the morning, and then observe that the bottle is full at twelve noon.
- twelve noon tomorrow
Examples
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It was twelve noon when I left the house.
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Thursday mornings, nine AM to twelve noon.
-
A half hour at twelve noon.
Fiction book (1998) -
After all, tomorrow at twelve noon, he is subject to eviction.
Fiction book (2002) -
She finally got an appointment the next Thursday at twelve noon.
Fiction book (1996) -
At twelve noon, I want a roll-call of all rank and file in the station.
-
It's now twelve noon in Salamanca, Spain.
Synonyms
493
1.0
The middle of the day when the sun is highest, usually 12 o'clock
45
1.0
The middle of the day around noon
9
3.9
The exact middle of the day at 12 o'clock often used for dramatic meetings
4
1.3
The middle of the day when the sun is highest
1
8.9
The middle of the day when the sun is highest
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning '12:00 p.m.' is directly and compositionally derived from combining the numeral 'twelve' with the time noun 'noon'; there is no idiomatic shift. This numeral + time-noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will understand it.
Etymology
The phrase twelve noon comes from when people used the sun and bells to mark the time: at twelve the sun stood highest and the noon bell called people to the midday meal. That's why twelve noon means 'the middle of the day' or '12:00 p.m.'.