HOUR'GLASS, noun our'glass. A chronometer that measures the flux of time by the running of sand from one glass vessel to another, through a small aperture. Instead of sand, dry egg shells pulverized are sometimes used. The quantity of sand may be so proportioned as to measure an hour, a half hour, or a quarter. 1. Space of time.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI