Glossary

Dial Face – The portion of the sundial upon which a shadow is cast in order to indicate time. Traditionally, a dial face is a flat plane, but has also taken on other shapes, such as a sphere, helix, cone and so on.

Equiangular – The term used to refer to a sundial which has equally spaced and straight hour lines.

Globe Dial – A type of Sundial that is able to show the time by using the sun's azimuthal angle as it goes across the horizon.

Gnomon – A gnomon is the object that casts a shadow or light onto the face of the sundial. The edge of the gnomon is what is used to establish time.

Meridian Lines - Historically used to indicate the length of the solar year, the meridian lines are also used to indicate the day of the year. Meridian lines are typically horizontal lines on a meridian, with a gnomon that faces the sun-moon.

Motto – Sundials traditionally have a motto written on them, usually written in an epigram (a brief yet memorable statement). Mottos can be humorous or they can be reflective statements about life. At times, there will be a theme to the sundial, and the Motto will reflect that theme.

Nodus – A point like feature at the very tip of the style used to determine the time in some sundials.

Noon Marks – The point on a sundial which dictates the exact time of 12:00 noon.

Style – The edge of the gnomon that determines the time.

Substyle – A line on the dial plate which is perpendicular to the style on sundials with fixed styles. Substyle literally means "below the style."