People are often surprised to find out what time really means. Did you know?

People were left stunned after learning the true meaning of the phrase ‘o’clock’.

Despite being said constantly, it seems some still don’t know what the “o” actually represents after a social media post on the topic went viral.

Recently, a Threads user named @jenny_nuel1 He put his followers to the test as he asked them about the word.

Jenny asked people if they knew what the “o” meant.

A series of incorrect answers followed as it became clear Jenny had left users stumped, so do you know what the “o” in dot means?

If you guessed “clockwise,” then you are correct.

According to the Britannica Dictionary‘An apostrophe is used (after the o) because the word is a contraction of the phrase “del reloj.”‘

Many people shared their best guesses on Jenny’s question, but they were ultimately wrong.

One person guessed: “Omega.”

Another user added: ‘Oh wow, I’m so late. Look at the clock.’

Someone else wrote: ‘Orenthal.’

“At the appointed time,” guessed a fourth.

One user said: ‘Odee.’

Another user said it meant “esophagus,” while someone else added that it meant “beer time, everyone ready?”

However, there were some users who got it right.

Jenny’s post prompted people to ask someone to explain the origin of the term.

One user stated: ‘When the clock was invented, many people used the sundial, so to make the distinction, many people who used the clock said it was “of the clock.”‘

He Oxford English DictionaryThe earliest evidence of the use of the clock dates back to 1419 in the Guildhall Letter Book.

“The earliest known use of the adverb o’clock dates back to the Middle English period (1150–1500),” the dictionary says.