What does "dial" mean?
Dial: The graduated face of a timepiece, on which the time of day is shown by pointers or hands.
Additional senses
- 2.A miner's compass. Dial bird (Zoöl.), an Indian bird (Copsychus saularius), allied to the European robin. The name is also given to other related species. -- Dial lock, a lock provided with one or more plates having numbers or letters upon them. These plates must be adjusted in a certain determined way before the lock can be operated. -- Dial plate, the plane or disk of a dial or timepiece on which lines and figures for indicating the time are placed.
- 3.To measure with a dial. Hours of that true time which is dialed in heaven. Talfourd.
- 4.(Mining) To survey with a dial. Raymond.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00