hourglass

From hour +‎ glass.

• IPA^(key): /ˈaʊəɡlɑːs/

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hourglass (plural hourglasses)

1. A clock made of two glass vessels connected by a narrow passage through which sand flows.

   Synonyms: sandglass, sand timer, watch glass

   Hyponym: egg timer

   Meronym: pinch

   After each game turn, invert the hourglass to reset the time limit for the next player.

   • 1819, John Keats, “Canto I”, in The Fall of Hyperion:

     The sands of thy short life are spent this hour, / And no hand in the universe can turn / Thy hourglass, if these gummed leaves be burnt / Ere thou canst mount up these immortal steps.

2. (graphical user interface) A cursor, often shaped like an hourglass, indicating that the computer is busy.

   Synonym: egg timer

   Coordinate term: (Apple) beach ball

   • 2002, Maximum PC (Winter 2002, page 16)

     When I right click the desktop display to check Display Properties, it hangs and shows me only the hourglass instead of the display menu.

• ⏳, ⌛
• tempus fugit

• hourglass on Wikipedia.Wikipedia