HOURS, Horæ, in the Roman Catholic church, are certain prayers performed at stated times of the day, as matins, vespers, lauds, and the like. The lesser hours are, prime, terce, sixth, and none, and they are called canonical hours, as being prescribed by the canons of the church in
commemoration of the mysteries accomplished at those hours. These hours were anciently called course, cursus; and Mabillon has written a dissertation on them, entitled De Cursu Gallicano. The first constitution enjoining the observation of the canonical hours is dated in the ninth century; being found in a capitular of Heito, bishop of Basil, directed to his curates, importing that the priests shall never be absent at the canonical hours either by day or by night.
Hour-Glass, a popular kind of chronometer or cleydra, serving to measure the flux of time by the descent or running of sand out of one glass vessel into another.