‘What’s the time?’ you may ask someone and the person may certainly reply with an ‘AM or PM’ as a ‘suffix’, but what in actuality does AM And PM Stand For? What does AM and PM stand for?
AM and Pm are used hand-to-hand with the 12-hour clock format split the default 24 hours of a day into two periods which lasts for 12 hours each and both periods are designated AM and PM respectively.
Each period consisting of 12 hours numbered from 1 to 12, the 12 in this cycle acts as zero. Therefore, the 24-hours cycle that makes a day begins at midnight; this is usually indicated as 12 am.
The cycle also runs through 12 noon, and this is indicated as 12 p.m.respectively. This continues just before midnight at the end of the day.
Some people say that AM and PM are mere acronyms whereas others say it is just a random word indicating day and night,
what is your view? Whatever your take is, you will get the correct meaning at the end of the article so, keep reading.
Before we proceed, you should be informed that The 12-hour clock format was developed from the middle of the second millennium BC to the 16th century AD.
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what does am, and pm stand for?
Without much ado, let us now see what AM and PM mean as well as the best way there are to be written.
AM is an abbreviation for ANTE MERIDIEM. In Latin, it means ‘before midday’ or ‘before noon’.
An example: 10.00 am 10 o’clock in the morning. With a 24 hour time, this is 10:00.
PM is an abbreviation for Post Meridiem, In Latin, it means “After Midday” or “After Noon”.
An example: 10.00 pm is 10 o’clock in the evening. With a 24 hour time, this is 22:00.
In countries that majorly use the English language a 12 hour time is used solely. So, in the sense of writing, the time has just 12 hours, but there is in one day, 24 hours.
The primary determinant to scale if a time penned down is in the evening or morning period of the day is through the AM/PM timescale.
Majority of countries in Europe mostly uses the twenty-four-hour written time where 0-12 hours signifies morning period while 13-24 hours signify afternoon and evening period of the day.
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Converting 12-Hour to 24-Hour Format
A 24-hour clock sometimes referred to as military time, states the time according to the number of hours that have passed since midnight.
Starting at midnight, hours are numbered from 0 to 24, removing the need for designations like am and pm. For example, at 23:00, 23 hours have passed since the beginning of the current day.
To convert am or pm time to the 24-hour Format, use these rules:
- From midnight to 12:59 am, subtract 12 hours.
12:49 am = 0:49 (12:49 – 12) - From 1 am to noon, do nothing.
11:49 am = 11:49 - From 12:01 pm to 12:59 pm, do nothing.
12:49 pm = 12:49 - From 1:00 pm to midnight, add 12 hours.
1:49 pm = 13:49 (1:49 + 12)
Here’s how to convert time on a 24-hour clock to the 12-hour system:
- From 0:00 (midnight) to 0:59, add 12 hours and use am.
0:49 = 12:49 am (0:49 + 12) - From 1:00 to 11:59, add am after the time.
11:49 = 11:49 am - From 12:00 to 12:59, add pm after the time.
12:49 = 12:49 pm - From 13:00 to 0:00, subtract 12 hours and use pm.
13:49 = 1:49 pm (13:49 - 12)
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