Gnomon

[Slava]

The Punxatawney Phil part of a sundial. It's what sticks up and shows its shadow.

[LukeJavan8]

And ole Phil saw his shadow this year, despite the fact
that it was cloudy in every part of Pennsylvania.
Go figure.

My grandmother had a sundial. Never knew what that
little thingie was called. Curious word.

[LukeJavan8]

Cannot find too much about it, myself.
Wiki, that fount of all knowledge, says:

from the Latin, related to the Greek Gnosko: "I know".


Emailed a friend in Greece, a language scholar, see if he
knows anything more.