(a) A time of day appointed for prayer, one of the seven canonical hours; (b) canoun ~, ~ of the canoun, canonical hour; even-song(es ~, ~ of even-song, time of evensong; heigh ~ of non, ?exactly noon; heigh ~ of prime, ?a time after the beginning of prime, ?a time between prime and tierce; ~ of compline (prime, sexte, terce), time of compline (prime, sext, tierce); ~ of non, non ~, time of nones; also, noon, midday; ~ of preiinge, hour appointed for prayer, houres of the dai, the canonical hours; esp. the day hours.

(a) The divine office for each of the canonical hours; the daily service at each of the canonical hours; ~ of god; observance of the canonical hours; pl. devotional prayers said at appointed hours, esp. at the canonical hours; (b) pl. the divine office for the day hours, the services in observance of the canonical hours other than matins; (c) pl. the office for the little hours; the services in observance of the canonical hours of tierce, sext, and nones, and sometimes also prime; (d) houres canonized, houres of god(es servise, houres of divine servise, houres of god, the divine office, the daily services at the canonical hours; (e) houres of the dai, the divine office for any or all of the day hours, services at the canonical hours of the day; also fig.; houres of the night, the night office; -- fig.; houres of the night and the dai, the entire divine office; (f) houres of the holi gost, the Office of the Holy Ghost, a series of private devotions of semi-liturgical form imitating the regular office for the canonical hours; (g) the Little Office of Our Lady, a series of semi-liturgical devotions to the Virgin; (h) ~ of non (sexte, terce), the office for or service at nones (sext, tierce); smal houres, the office for the little hours.

(a) One of the twenty-four equal parts of the natural day (i.e., the time from one sunrise to the next), each hour being of uniform duration at all times; an equal hour; ~ equal, ~ of the clokke, equal hour; (b) one of the twelve equal parts of the artificial day (from sunrise to sunset) or night (from sunset to sunrise), which vary in duration according to the season; an unequal hour; astrol. an unequal hour under the special influence of a planet; ~ inequal, unequal hour; ~ of planete, an hour when a planet is of special influence; ~ of mars (mercurie, etc.), an hour under the special influence of the planet Mars (Mercury, etc.); ben on in houres, of months: to have hours of equal length at corresponding times of day; kepen in houres, to keep (a patient) under favorable planetary influence; kepen houres of astronomie, to observe the hours of special astrological significance; (c) the space of an hour, approximately an hour; fig. a short space of time; space of an ~, an hour(es space, for an hour; (d) a period of time characterized by a particular condition or occurrence; ~ of blod (colre, fleume, melancolie), a time when the humor blood (choler, phlegm, melancholy) is of dominant influence; last ~, the final period of the world; (e) gret ~, ?an unequal hour of maximum duration, ?an entire hour; houres fet (fotes), the length in feet of the shadow of the gnomon of a sundial at a given hour.

(a) A definite time of day or night reckoned in equal hours from midnight or midday; (b) a definite time of day or night reckoned in unequal hours from sunrise to sunset; (c) a time of day or night, an hour of the day or night; also, time in general; ~ was made, time had elapsed; (d) cold (hot) ~, a time of day cold (hot) in temperature or quality; ~ of evening, a time in the evening, an evening hour; ~ of middai (midnight), midday (midnight); middel ~, noon.

(a) The time of a particular happening; the time for a given activity, the moment for action; a fixed or appointed time; (b) ~ of deth, the hour of (someone's) death, the moment of dying; ~ of nativite, the exact time of (one's) birth; thin ~, the time of your death; (c) ~ of eleccioun (chesinge, techinge), ~ electif, chosen ~, a time chosen as favorable for phlebotomy, purgation, and similar medical procedures; ~ of necessite (ned), ~ necessarie, nedeful ~, a time when treatment by phlebotomy, purgation, etc., is necessitated by the condition of the patient; ~ of the ivel, the time of a periodic attack of disease.

In prep. phrases: (a) afore thes houres, before the present time; at al houres, at all times; at an (on) ~, at the time of an ~, for an hour, for a short time; at the ~, ?at the appointed hour; at tide and ~ and time, ?at a certain time; bi an (on) ~, for an (one) hour; -- also pl.; biforen (forwith) that ~, before that time; (b) fro that (this) ~, from that (this) time forth; from this ~ to, from this time until (some stated later time); from ~ to (til) ~, from one hour to the next, hour after hour; in ani (a) ~, at any time; in everi ~, at all times, at any hour, at any time; in (a) god ~, at a fortunate time, fortunately; in sori (unhappi) ~, at an unlucky time; (c) in on ~, at one time; for an hour, for a short time; in som ~, at a certain time; in that (thilke) ~, in the (that, this) same ~, at the same hour, at that very time; in his ~, at its own time, in due season; in time and (in) ~, at the proper time; of on ~, of a single hour's duration; on on ~, at the same time; upon an ~, at a certain time.

In (selected) adv. constructions: (a) on (an) ~, for one hour, for a single hour, for an hour; -- also pl.; (b) an ~ after, an hour after (a given event); ~ after ~, ~ bi ~, one hour after another, hour by hour; al houres, at all times, continually; everi (an) ~, continually, always, ever; everi dai and (everi) ~, everi ~ and time, at all times, all the time, always; that (this) ~, at that (this) time; the (this, that) same ~, at the same hour, at the very time.