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Small hours   /smɔl ˈaʊərz/   Listen
noun
Hour  n.  
1.
The twenty-fourth part of a day; sixty minutes.
2.
The time of the day, as expressed in hours and minutes, and indicated by a timepiece; as, what is the hour? At what hour shall we meet?
3.
Fixed or appointed time; conjuncture; a particular time or occasion; as, the hour of greatest peril; the man for the hour. "Woman,... mine hour is not yet come." "This is your hour, and the power of darkness."
4.
pl. (R. C. Ch.) Certain prayers to be repeated at stated times of the day, as matins and vespers.
5.
A measure of distance traveled. "Vilvoorden, three hours from Brussels."
After hours, after the time appointed for one's regular labor.
Canonical hours. See under Canonical.
Hour angle (Astron.), the angle between the hour circle passing through a given body, and the meridian of a place.
Hour circle. (Astron.)
(a)
Any circle of the sphere passing through the two poles of the equator; esp., one of the circles drawn on an artificial globe through the poles, and dividing the equator into spaces of 15°, or one hour, each.
(b)
A circle upon an equatorial telescope lying parallel to the plane of the earth's equator, and graduated in hours and subdivisions of hours of right ascension.
(c)
A small brass circle attached to the north pole of an artificial globe, and divided into twenty-four parts or hours. It is used to mark differences of time in working problems on the globe.
Hour hand, the hand or index which shows the hour on a timepiece.
Hour line.
(a)
(Astron.) A line indicating the hour.
(b)
(Dialing) A line on which the shadow falls at a given hour; the intersection of an hour circle which the face of the dial.
Hour plate, the plate of a timepiece on which the hours are marked; the dial.
Sidereal hour, the twenty-fourth part of a sidereal day.
Solar hour, the twenty-fourth part of a solar day.
The small hours, the early hours of the morning, as one o'clock, two o'clock, etc.
To keep good hours, to be regular in going to bed early.


adjective
Small  adj.  (compar. smaller; superl. smallest)  
1.
Having little size, compared with other things of the same kind; little in quantity or degree; diminutive; not large or extended in dimension; not great; not much; inconsiderable; as, a small man; a small river. "To compare Great things with small."
2.
Being of slight consequence; feeble in influence or importance; unimportant; trivial; insignificant; as, a small fault; a small business.
3.
Envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; sometimes, in reproach, paltry; mean. "A true delineation of the smallest man is capable of interesting the greatest man."
4.
Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short; as, after a small space.
5.
Weak; slender; fine; gentle; soft; not loud. "A still, small voice."
Great and small,of all ranks or degrees; used especially of persons. "His quests, great and small."
Small arms, muskets, rifles, pistols, etc., in distinction from cannon.
Small beer. See under Beer.
Small coal.
(a)
Little coals of wood formerly used to light fires.
(b)
Coal about the size of a hazelnut, separated from the coarser parts by screening.
Small craft (Naut.), a vessel, or vessels in general, of a small size.
Small fruits. See under Fruit.
Small hand, a certain size of paper. See under Paper.
Small hours. See under Hour.
Small letter. (Print.), a lower-case letter. See Lower-case, and Capital letter, under Capital, a.
Small piece, a Scotch coin worth about 2¼d. sterling, or about 4½cents.
Small register. See the Note under 1st Register, 7.
Small stuff (Naut.), spun yarn, marline, and the smallest kinds of rope.
Small talk, light or trifling conversation; chitchat.
Small wares (Com.), various small textile articles, as tapes, braid, tringe, and the like.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Small hours" Quotes from Famous Books



... a little cabin by himself, for he wished to be where he would not disturb others when he sang or whistled over his work in the small hours of the night. But his meals he took at the college dormitory, where he presided at a table of young women students. Never was a man more popular with the ladies than this weather-beaten patriarch with the girls of his table. No matter how gloomy the day ...
— Craftsmanship in Teaching • William Chandler Bagley
... about it till the small hours came. Winifred's face cleared of every trace of sorrow, and she loved to think of the cheer and help that Hubert would have in the far-off land. No braver heart of all they knew could have been found to share his pilgrimage; and they imagined how Adele's keen sense of humor ...
— The First Soprano • Mary Hitchcock
... not, perhaps, then to be wondered at if John found him a much less interesting companion than ever before, as they walked home together in the small hours of the night. Mr. Tatham's own speech had been short, but he had the agreeable consciousness that it had been an effective one, and he was prepared to find the boy excited by it, and full of applause and satisfaction. But Philip did not say a word ...
— The Marriage of Elinor • Margaret Oliphant
... which found their way into the sketch-books. It was Beethoven's practice to keep one of these books by his bedside, in case an idea occurred to him during the night, and it is told that he was once aroused by the knocking of a neighbour who had been accidentally locked out of his house in the small hours of the morning. The irate neighbour knocked four raps at a time, with a pause at the end of every fourth rap, and the rhythmic regularity of the sounds not only startled Beethoven out of his sleep, but suggested a musical idea to his mind. Up jumped the composer, and down went the idea ...
— Story-Lives of Great Musicians • Francis Jameson Rowbotham
... though he could easily pull them out. At ten o'clock he retired as usual, but the hour of meeting was one o'clock, for the young rascals had come to the conclusion that their purpose could be better executed in the small hours of the morning, when the farmer and his ...
— In School and Out - or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. • Oliver Optic


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