我們在古裝劇中經(jīng)常看到高手過招以“一炷香”為限，你知道這“一炷香的工夫”究竟是多久嗎？除了“一炷香”、“一盞茶”等中國古代的說法，英語中也有許多古老、奇怪的時間單位，隨著人類文明的發(fā)展，有些早已成為歷史，鮮少被提起，但這并不妨礙我們了解這些有趣的知識。

Atom comes from a Greek word meaning “uncuttable，” and so in terms of physics an atom is literally an “indivisible” particle. In Old English， however， atom also came to be used for what was then considered the smallest measureable quantity of time： there were once reckoned to be 376 atoms in a minute， making one atom equal to a little under 1/6th of a second （or 0.15957 seconds， to be more precise）.

原子源自希臘語，意思是“不可分割的”，物理學(xué)中的原子實際上是一種“不可分割的”粒子。然而，在古英語中，原子也代表當(dāng)時被認為可測量的最小時間量：人們曾認為一分鐘內(nèi)有376原子，一原子接近1/6秒（更準確地說是0.15957秒）。

In the Middle Ages， all kinds of contraptions and devices were used to keep track of time， one of the simplest and neatest of which was an Indian water-clock called a ghurry. It comprised a large metal or wooden bowl， pierced with several holes， which would be placed in a basin full of water， and as the water poured into the bowl through the holes in its sides， it would slowly sink to the bottom of the tank. The entire process from start to finish took a fixed amount of time， which was usually precisely 24 minutes. Ultimately， there were once considered to be 60 ghurries in a day.

在中世紀，人們發(fā)明了各種各樣奇妙的時間計量裝置，其中最簡單靈巧的是印度水鐘（被稱為“ghurry”）。這種水鐘由一個帶有數(shù)個小孔的金屬或木制大碗組成，將碗放在裝滿水的盆里，當(dāng)水通過碗上的孔流入碗中時，碗會慢慢沉到水底部。整個過程所用的時間是固定的，一般是24分鐘。曾經(jīng)人們認為一天有60“ghurries”。

3. LUSTRE

A lustre is a period of five years. Its use dates back to Ancient Rome， when a lustrum was a five-year period at the end of which a full census of the Roman population would be carried out. Once the figures were in and the counting was complete， a vast celebratory procession would be held through the streets of Rome， which culminated in a vast purifying sacrifice called a lustratio （literally， “a washing”） made in honor of all of the people of the Empire.

“l(fā)ustre”表示五年時間。關(guān)于“l(fā)ustre”的歷史可以追溯到古羅馬時期，“l(fā)ustrum”在當(dāng)時指五年長的周期，每當(dāng)這個周期結(jié)束，羅馬將進行一次全面的人口普查。普查結(jié)束時，羅馬街頭會出現(xiàn)龐大的慶祝游行，最終以一場被稱為“l(fā)ustratio”的凈化祭祀結(jié)束，以紀念所有羅馬帝國的人民。

If a “l(fā)ight-year” sounds like a unit of time but is actually a unit of distance， then a mileway is the complete opposite. It sounds like a unit of length， but in the early Middle Ages it was actually a name for a period of around 20 minutes—or roughly the amount time it takes to walk one mile.

“光年”聽起來像是表示時間的單位，實際上卻是距離單位。而“mileway（英里路）”則完全相反，它聽起來像是長度單位，但在中世紀初期，“mileway”表示大約20分鐘或步行一英里大概所需的時間。

A nundine was a Roman market held every ninth day， which takes its name from the Latin word for “ninth，” novem （as in November， the ninth month of the Roman calendar）. A nundine， ultimately， is a period of nine days—or， not counting inclusively， an eight-day gap between two dates.

“Nundine”是指羅馬集市日，每九天舉辦一次，它來源于拉丁語中的“novem（第九，就像November即11月是羅馬歷法中的第9個月）”。后來“nundine”用來表示9天長的時間，或者兩個日期中的八天間隔。

Derived from the Greek words for “night” （nyks） and “day” （hemera）， a nychthemeron is nothing more than a fancy alternative name for a period of 24 hours.

“Nychthemeron（一晝夜）”源自希臘語的“夜”（nyks）和“日”（hemera），“nycthemeron”不過是24小時的別名。

Note： nychthemeron 一天一夜，一晝夜

Also called a point or a prick， in Medieval Europe a punct was a quarter of an hour…

“A punct”也被稱為“a point（一點）”或“a prick（一刺）”，在中世紀的歐洲，一“punct”表示一刻鐘……

…while a quadrant is one-quarter of a day， or a period of exactly six hours.

……而“a quadrant”表示四分之一天，或者說六個小時。

Note： quadrant 四分之一圓（或圓周），象限

Quinzième literally means “fifteenth” in French， and in this sense the word was borrowed into English after the Norman Conquest of England as the name of a tax or duty equivalent to 15 pence in every pound. In the early 1400s， however， the word began to be used in religious contexts to refer to the day of a major church festival or holiday and the first two full weeks following it. As a result， a quinzième is a period of 15 days.

“Quinzième”在法語中表示“第十五”，諾曼人征服英國后這個詞被借用到英語中，作為一種稅的名稱，相當(dāng)于每英磅15便士。而到15世紀初期，quinzième開始在宗教語境中使用，代表一個重要的宗教節(jié)日以及隨后的整整兩周。因此，一“quinzième”等于15天。

Scruple comes from scrupulus， a Latin word for a small stone or pebble. Historically， a scruple was also an old apothecaries’ measurement equal to 1/24th of an ounce （roughly 1.3 grams）. In the early 17th century scruple also came to be used as another name for 1/60th of a degree of a circle （i.e. one minute）， 1/60th of a minute （i.e. one second）， and 1/60th of a day （i.e. 24 minutes）.

“Scruple（顧慮，不安）”源自拉丁語中的“scrupulus（小石頭或卵石）”。歷史上，“scruple”曾是藥劑師使用的古老計量單位，相當(dāng)于1/24盎司（約1.3克）。在17世紀初期，“scruple”也表示圓周的1/60度（1分鐘）、一分鐘的1/60（1秒）和一天的1/60（24分鐘）。