Meanings
nounsundial (plural sundials)
plural sundials
- A device measuring the time of day by the position of a shadow cast by a pole or plate (gnomon) upon an engraved series of marks.
The birdbath includes a small gnomon that acts as a sundial with markings on the basin if it's aligned correctly with the sun.
3 more examples
Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLCThe shop carries more than a dozen sundials, mostly of bronze, plus an astrolabe ($650) of wrought iron.
1985 April 4, Daryln Brewer, “HELPFUL HARDWARE; AN ARRAY OF SUNDIALS”, in The New York TimesIt was Oxford now—the matriculation photograph, posed in the stony front quad at Corpus, the pelican on top of the sundial appearing to sit on the head of the lanky, begowned chemist at the centre of the back row.
1988, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 3, in The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 60 - A sea snail of the genus Heliacus.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*sóh₂wl̥
- Proto-Germanic*sunnô
- Proto-Germanic*sunnǭ
- Proto-West Germanic*sunnā
- Old Englishsunne
- Middle Englishsonne
- Englishsun
- Proto-Indo-European*dyew-
- Proto-Indo-European*dyḗws
- Proto-Italic*djous
- Latindiēs
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Latindiālis
- Middle Frenchdya
- Middle Englishdiall
- Englishdial
- Englishsundial
From sun + dial, a clarification of dial after it was used for other objects as well.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans sonwyzer
- sonwyzerdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Arabic مِزْوَلَة
- مِزْوَلَة (mizwala)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Basque eguzki erloju
- eguzki erlojudevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Bengali সূর্যঘড়ি
- সূর্যঘড়ি (śurjoghoṛi)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Bulgarian слъ́нчев часо́вник
- слъ́нчев часо́вник (slắnčev časóvnik)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Catalan rellotge de sol
- rellotge de soldevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Chinese Mandarin 日晷, 日規 /日规
- 日晷 (rìguǐ)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- 日規 /日规 (rìguī)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Czech sluneční hodiny
- sluneční hodinydevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Danish solur
- solurdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Dutch zonnewijzer
- zonnewijzerdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Esperanto sunhorloĝo
- sunhorloĝodevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Estonian päikesekell
- päikesekelldevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Finnish aurinkokello
- aurinkokellodevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
French cadran solaire
- cadran solairedevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
German Sonnenuhr
- Sonnenuhrdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Greek ηλιακό ρολόι
- ηλιακό ρολόι (iliakó rolói)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Hebrew שְׁעוֹן שֶׁמֶשׁ
- שְׁעוֹן שֶׁמֶשׁ (sh'ón shémesh)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Hindi सौर-घड़ी, धूपघड़ी
- सौर-घड़ी (saur-ghaṛī)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- धूपघड़ी (dhūpghaṛī)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Hungarian napóra
- napóradevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Icelandic sólúr
- sólúrdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Indonesian jam matahari
- jam mataharidevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Irish clog gréine
- clog gréinedevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Italian meridiana, orologio solare
- meridianadevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- orologio solaredevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- gnomonedevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- eliotropiodevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Japanese 日時計
- 日時計 (hidokei)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Korean 해시계, 일시계
- 해시계 (haesigye)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- 일시계 (ilsigye)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Latin sōlārium hōrologium, sōlārium
- sōlārium hōrologiumdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- sōlāriumdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Latvian saules pulkstenis
- saules pulkstenisdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Lithuanian saulės laikrodis
- saulės laikrodisdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Malay jam matahari
- jam mataharidevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Māori karaka ātārangi
- karaka ātārangidevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Norwegian Bokmål solur
- solurdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Polish zegar słoneczny
- zegar słonecznydevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Portuguese relógio de sol, relógio do sol
- relógio de soldevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- relógio do soldevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- relógio solardevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- soláriodevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Romanian ceas solar, cadran solar
- ceas solardevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- cadran solardevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Russian со́лнечные часы́
- со́лнечные часы́ (sólnečnyje časý)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Scottish Gaelic uaireadair-grèine
- uaireadair-grèinedevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Slovak slnečné hodiny
- slnečné hodinydevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Spanish reloj solar, reloj de sol
- reloj solardevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- reloj de soldevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Swahili bonyeza
- bonyezadevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Swedish solur
- solurdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Tagalog oras-araw, kuwadrante
- oras-arawdevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
- kuwadrantedevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Tamil சூரிய மணிகாட்டி
- சூரிய மணிகாட்டி (cūriya maṇikāṭṭi)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Thai นาฬิกาแดด
- นาฬิกาแดด (naa-lí-gaa-dɛ̀ɛt)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Turkish güneş saati
- güneş saatidevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Ukrainian со́нячний годи́нник
- со́нячний годи́нник (sónjačnyj hodýnnyk)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Urdu دُھوپ گَھڑی
- دُھوپ گَھڑی (dhūp ghaṛī)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Vietnamese đồng hồ mặt trời
- đồng hồ mặt trờidevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Welsh deial haul
- deial hauldevice noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Yiddish זון־זײגער
- זון־זײגער (zun-zeyger)device noting the time of day by the position of a shadow
Cite this entry
APA
sundial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sundial
MLA
“sundial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sundial. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sundial,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sundial.
Source: sundial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.