Clock

A clock (from the Latin cloca, "bell") is an instrument for measuring time. True clocks have an announcing or striking mechanism that sounds after each set interval of time, usually by ringing a bell (which, as previously indicated, originally gave the clock its name), chimes, or gong. A silent clock without a striking mechanism is traditionally known as a timepiece, a term sometimes used by horologists and other specialists to describe ordinary wrist watches and other timekeeping devices lacking a striking mechanism (see Baillie et al., p. 307; Palmer, p. 19; Zea & Cheney, p. 172).

"Clock" is derived from the French, cloche, which in turn was derived from the Latin term, cloca. In French, cloche is feminine, so when referring to the hour "by the bell" it takes the a la and puts it into the masculine form au cloche, properly pronounced with a long õ then "Clõsh." So, au cloche in French becomes in English o'clock, which however in older English usage was sometimes spelled "of the clock". The advent of the clock tower and bell approximates the Norman influence in England. While the Normans were of Scandinavian descent, they spoke French.