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  CLOCK, n.  A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern
  for the future by reminding him what a lot of time remains to him.
  
      A busy man complained one day:
      "I get no time!"  "What's that you say?"
      Cried out his friend, a lazy quiz;
      "You have, sir, all the time there is.
      There's plenty, too, and don't you doubt it --
      We're never for an hour without it."
                                                            Purzil Crofe

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) : [ foldoc ]


  clock
       
          A processor's clock or one cycle thereof.  The relative
          execution times of instructions on a computer are usually
          measured by number of clock cycles rather than seconds.  One
          good reason for this is that clock rates for various models
          of the computer may increase as technology improves, and it is
          usually the relative times one is interested in when
          discussing the instruction set.
       
          (1994-12-16)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Clock \Clock\ (kl[o^]k), n. [AS. clucge bell; akin to D. klok
     clock, bell, G. glocke, Dan. klokke, Sw. klocka, Icel. klukka
     bell, LL. clocca, cloca (whence F. cloche); al perh. of
     Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. clog bell, clock, W. cloch
     bell. Cf. Cloak.]
     1. A machine for measuring time, indicating the hour and
        other divisions; in ordinary mechanical clocks for
        domestic or office use the time is indicated on a
        typically circular face or dial plate containing two
        hands, pointing to numbers engraved on the periphery of
        the face, thus showing the hours and minutes. The works of
        a mechanical clock are moved by a weight or a spring, and
        it is often so constructed as to tell the hour by the
        stroke of a hammer on a bell. In electrical or electronic
        clocks, the time may be indicated, as on a mechanical
        clock, by hands, but may also be indicated by direct
        digital readout, with the hours and minutes in normal
        Arabic numerals. The readout using hands is often called
        analog to distinguish it from the digital readout. Some
        clocks also indicate the seconds. Clocks are not adapted,
        like the watch, to be carried on the person. Specialized
        clocks, such as atomic clocks, may be constructed on
        different principles, and may have a very high precision
        for use in scientific observations.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. A watch, esp. one that strikes. [Obs.] --Walton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The striking of a clock. [Obs.] --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A figure or figured work on the ankle or side of a
        stocking. --Swift.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The phrases what o'clock? it is nine o'clock, etc., are
           contracted from what of the clock? it is nine of the
           clock, etc.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     Alarm clock. See under Alarm.
  
     Astronomical clock.
        (a) A clock of superior construction, with a compensating
            pendulum, etc., to measure time with great accuracy,
            for use in astronomical observatories; -- called a
            regulator when used by watchmakers as a standard for
            regulating timepieces.
        (b) A clock with mechanism for indicating certain
            astronomical phenomena, as the phases of the moon,
            position of the sun in the ecliptic, equation of time,
            etc.
  
     Electric clock.
        (a) A clock moved or regulated by electricity or
            electro-magnetism.
        (b) A clock connected with an electro-magnetic recording
            apparatus.
  
     Ship's clock (Naut.), a clock arranged to strike from one
        to eight strokes, at half hourly intervals, marking the
        divisions of the ship's watches.
  
     Sidereal clock, an astronomical clock regulated to keep
        sidereal time.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Clock \Clock\ (kl[o^]k), v. t.
     To ornament with figured work, as the side of a stocking.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Clock \Clock\, v. t. & i.
     To call, as a hen. See Cluck. [R.]
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Clock \Clock\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
     A large beetle, esp. the European dung beetle ({Scarab[ae]us
     stercorarius).
     [1913 Webster]

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) : [ jargon ]


  clock 1. n 1. [techspeak] The master oscillator that steps a CPU or
     other digital circuit through its paces. This has nothing to do with the
     time of day, although the software counter that keeps track of the
     latter may be derived from the former. 2. vt. To run a CPU or other
     digital circuit at a particular rate. "If you clock it at 100MHz, it
     gets warm.". See overclock. 3. vt. To force a digital circuit from one
     state to the next by applying a single clock pulse. "The data must be
     stable 10ns before you clock the latch."