The 12-hour clock is a time convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods: a.m. (from Latin , translating to "before midday") and p.m. (from Latin , translating to "after midday"). "The use of AM or PM to designate either noon or midnight can cause ambiguity. To designate noon, either the word noon or 1200 or 12 M should be used. To designate midnight without causing ambiguity, the two dates between which it falls should be given unless the 24-hour notation is used. Thus, midnight may be written: May 15–16 or 2400 May 15 or 0000 May 16."</ref> Each period consists of 12 hours numbered: 12 (acting as 0), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The 24-hour/day cycle starts at 12 midnight (usually indicated as 12:00 a.m.), runs through 12 noon (usually indicated as 12:00 p.m.), and continues just before midnight at the end of the day. The 12-hour clock was developed from the middle of the second millennium BC to the 16th century AD.