lHorloge

L'Horloge is the French noun for a clock, a timekeeping device that displays the hours and minutes on a dial with hands. The term covers a wide range of fixed timepieces, such as wall clocks, mantel clocks, tower clocks, and public clocks, and is used to distinguish these devices from la montre, which denotes a portable watch.

The word l'horloge derives from Old French horloge, which in turn comes from Medieval Latin horologia, from Greek hōrā meaning hour plus -logia, and ultimately from horologium, the instrument for measuring time. The elision before a vowel is the reason for the form l' horloge.

Types and features commonly associated with l'horloge include mechanical clocks driven by gears and springs, and pendulum clocks (pendules) that gained accuracy in the 17th and 18th centuries. Modern clocks may be quartz or atomic in timekeeping, while specialized versions exist such as horloges astronomiques (astronomical clocks) and horloge parlante (speaking clock) services that vocalize the current time. The term can also apply to public clock facades on buildings and towers, as well as to timekeeping standards, such as l'horloge universelle in reference to coordinated universal time (UTC) in practice.

In use, l'horloge denotes the general concept of a clock in French, while horlogerie refers to the craft, science, and industry of clocks and watches. The English equivalent is horology, and related terms include montre (watch) and horloge astronomique or horlogerie for more specialized contexts.

See also: montre, horlogerie, horology.