The Blog
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Just because I'm not confused enough...The terms ante meridiem (before noon) and post meridiem (after noon) do not literally apply to noon and midnight. Although the term meridies (literally midday) properly applies to noon, its abbreviation m. is not commonly used.
However, it has become common practice in countries that use the system (such as the United States) to designate 12:00 p.m. as noon and 12:00 a.m. as midnight at the beginning of the day (this is the de facto convention).
Nevertheless, this usage... is contrary to the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style, which recommends the use of 12:00 p.m. for midnight and 12:00 m. for noon (not 12:00 a.m.).
Thanks, wikipedia, for not at all helping with the am/a.m./AM dilemma. Well, ok, you helped a little, but I'm not going to forgive you for the 12:00m. thing any time soon (even if I can't wait for Lesa to complain to me about that).
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posted by Catherine, 12:49 PM | permanent link