istory of the Months and the

Meanings of their Names

A History of the Months
January -- Janus's month
February -- month of Februa
Intercalaris -- inter-calendar month
March -- Mars' month
April -- Aphrodite's month
May -- Maia's month
June -- Juno's month
July -- Julius Caesar's month
August -- Augustus Caesar's month
September -- the seventh month
October -- the eighth month
November -- the nineth month
December -- the tenth month
Sources
See Also
A History of the Months
The original Roman year had 10 named
months Martius "March", Aprilis "April", Maius "May", Junius "June", Quintili
s "July", Sextilis "August", September "September", October "October", Nove
mber"November", December "December", and probably two unnamed
months in the dead of winter when not much happened in agriculture. The
year began with Martius "March". Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome
circa 700 BC, added the two months Januarius "January"
and Februarius "February". He also moved the beginning of the year
from Marius to Januarius and changed the number of days in several months
to be odd, a lucky number. After Februarius there was occasionally an
additional month of Intercalaris "intercalendar". This is the origin of the leap-
year day being in February. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar reformed the Roman
calendar (hence the Julian calendar) changing the number of days in many
months and removing Intercalaris.

January -- Janus's month

Middle English Januarie
Latin Januarius "of Janus"
Latin Janu(s) "Janus" + -arius "ary (pertaining to)"
Latin Januarius mensis "month of Janus"

Janus is the Roman god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces
looking in opposite directions. His festival month is January.

Januarius had 29 days, until Julius when it became 31 days long.

February -- month of Februa

Middle English Februarius
Latin Februarius "of Februa"
Latin Februa(s) "Februa" + -arius "ary (pertaining to)"
Latin Februarius mensis "month of Februa"
Latin dies februatus "day of purification"

Februarius had 28 days, until circa 450 BC when it had 23 or 24 days on

some of every second year, until Julius when it had 29 days on every fourth
year and 28 days otherwise.

Februa is the Roman festival of purification, held on February fifteenth. It is

possibly of Sabine origin.
Intercalaris -- inter-calendar month
Latin Intercalaris "inter-calendar"
Latin Mercedonius (popular name) "?"

Intercalaris had 27 days until the month was abolished by Julius.

March -- Mars' month

Middle English March(e)
Anglo-French March(e)
Old English Martius
Latin Martius "of Mars"
Latin Marti(s) "Mars" + -us (adj. suffix)
Latin Martius mensis "month of Mars"

Martius has always had 31 days.

March was the original beginning of the year, and the time for the resumption
of war.

Mars is the Roman god of war. He is identified with the Greek god Ares.

April -- Aphrodite's month

Old English April(is)
Latin Aprilis
Etruscan Apru
Greek Aphro, short for Aphrodite.

Aprilis had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it
became 30 days long.

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She is identified with the
Roman goddess Venus.

May -- Maia's month

Old French Mai
Old English Maius
Latin Maius "of Maia"
Latin Maius mensis "month of Maia"

Maius has always had 31 days.

Maia (meaning "the great one") is the Italic goddess of spring, the daughter of
Faunus, and wife of Vulcan.

June -- Juno's month

Middle English jun(e)
Old French juin
Old English junius
Latin Junius "of Juno"
Latin Junius mensis "month of Juno"

Junius had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it
became 30 days long.

Juno is the principle goddess of the Roman Pantheon. She is the goddess of
marriage and the well-being of women. She is the wife and sister of Jupiter.
She is identified with the Greek goddess Hera.

July -- Julius Caesar's month

Middle English Julie
Latin Julius "Julius"
Latin Julius mensis "month of Julius"
Latin quintilis mensis "fifth month"

Quintilis (and later Julius) has always had 31 days.

Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar (hence the Julian calendar) in 46
BC. In the process, he renamed this month after himself.

August -- Augustus Caesar's month

Latin Augustus "Augustus"
Latin Augustus mensis "month of Augustus"
Latin sextilis mensis "sixth month"

Sextilis had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it
became 31 days long.

Augustus Caesar clarified and completed the calendar reform of Julius Caesar.
In the process, he also renamed this month after himself.

September -- the seventh month

Middle English septembre
Latin September
Latin septem "seven" + -ber (adj. suffix)
Latin september mensis "seventh month"

September had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it
became 30 days long.

October -- the eighth month

Middle English octobre
Latin October
Latin octo "eight" + -ber (adj. suffix)
Latin october mensis "eighth month"

October has always had 31 days.

November -- the nineth month

Middle English Novembre
Latin November
Latin Novembris mensis "nineth month"

Novembris had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it
became 30 days long.

December -- the tenth month

Middle English decembre
Old French decembre
Latin december "tenth month"
Latin decem "ten" + -ber (adj. suffix)

December had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it
became 31 days long.
Como os meses conseguiram
seus nomes?
Com o início do novo ano, você pode ter comprado recentemente um novo diário ou
calendário e pensar "De onde vêm essas palavras?" Pelo menos foi o que eu fiz. Há
também, é claro, também a chance de você ter alegremente agendado compromissos de
ginástica e clubes de livros e todos os outros detalhes relacionados a resoluções de Ano
Novo (você manteve o seu até agora?), Mas nós vamos aproveitar a oportunidade para
adicione uma resolução à sua lista: saiba onde recebemos os nomes de todos os meses
do ano. Spoilers: é uma mistura de deuses, governantes e números.

janeiro
Janeiro é nomeado após o deus romano Janus , que presidiu as portas e começos -
apropriadamente o suficiente, para o início do ano (embora isto seja, como você vai
descobrir, não tão simples quanto parece). De fato, Janus era geralmente representado
com duas faces olhando para trás e para frente, como é freqüentemente característico de
um novo ano; isso também deu origem ao termo palavra Janus para palavras que têm
dois significados opostos .

fevereiro
Fevereiro é basicamente baseado no latim februarius , de fevereiro . No caso de isso
não ajudou as coisas se tornam mais claras, Februa era o nome de uma festa de
purificação realizado nas 15 th deste mês. Fevereiro é uma questão polêmica na
pronúncia moderna , com os dois fev-yo-ary e febrero sendo comumente ouvidos.

Março
Qual deus pega um planeta e um mês com o nome dele? Você adivinhou: Marte. Por
que ele? Como observa o Oxford English Dictionary , "Na Roma antiga, vários festivais
de Marte aconteceram em março, presumivelmente como preparação para a temporada
de campanha, já que Marte era um deus da guerra".

abril
Sabemos que a palavra inglesa April vem do latim Aprillis , o quarto mês do calendário
romano antigo, mas as coisas são menos claras depois disso. Em inglês antigo, abril
também era chamado de Eastermonab , "mês da Páscoa".

Maio
O mês está conectado com a deusa Maia. Talvez menos conhecida agora do que as
outras divindades com meses nomeados depois deles, Maia (na mitologia grega) era
filha de Atlas e mãe de Hermes. Ela foi considerada uma educadora e uma deusa da
terra, o que pode explicar a conexão com este mês de primavera. Embora may seja
um verbo modal comum , o mês e a palavra não estão relacionados.

Junho
Tendo concedido um mês a uma divindade grega, estamos agora de volta com os
romanos: June recebeu o nome da antiga deusa romana Juno, esposa de Júpiter e deusa
do casamento e do parto. Junho também já foi conhecido como mês de verão .
Julho
O primeiro mês do calendário em homenagem a uma pessoa real, julho foi nomeado em
homenagem a Júlio César após sua morte em 44 aC, sendo julho o mês de seu
nascimento. Antes de ser renomeado, o mês era conhecido como Quintilis (emprestado
para o inglês como Quintile ), que significa "quinto". Se você estiver contando, saberá
que julho não é o quinto mês: chegaremos a esse ponto quando chegarmos em setembro
e outubro.

agosto
Seguindo o exemplo, em 8 aC, o mês Sextilis ('sexto') foi renomeado depois de
Augusto, o primeiro imperador romano e sobrinho-neto de Júlio César. O próprio
Augusto recebeu esse título quando se tornou imperador, tendo sido conhecido
anteriormente como Otaviano. Veio do latim augustus quesignifica "consagrado,
venerável", que deu origem ao adjetivo inglês august , "respeitado e impressionante".

setembro
Setembro segue a partir de Quinitlis e Sextilis , na medida em que vem do latim septem ,
'sete'. Como com esses (e o resto do calendário), a numeração está um pouco errada
agora: setembro era originalmente o sétimo mês de um calendário romano de dez meses,
que começou em março.

Outubro
Mais do mesmo: octo é o latim para 'oito', para aquele calendário de dez meses. Dois
meses foram adicionados ao final do ano civil por volta de 713 aC, e o início do ano foi
transferido para 1º de janeiro em 153 aC.

novembro
O padrão continua: novembro vem do novem , 'nove'. O mês de novembro também é,
receiam, usado "com alusão à posição de novembro no final do ano, e à característica
cinza, sombria, etc., associada a ele no hemisfério norte". O mais antigo exemplo
conhecido desse uso alusivo vem do romance postumamente publicado de Jane
Austen, Persuasion .

dezembro
E nós terminar o ano com dezembro, a partir decem , 'dez'. O mês também vem com um
par de adjetivos: dezembro e dezembro , o último dos quais também pode ser usado
como um advérbio. E aí está: um ano inteiro de etimologias para ver você em todo o
ano de 2016.
How did the months get their
names?
As the new year starts you might have recently bought a new diary or calendar and
thought ‘Where do these words come from?’ – at least that’s what I did. There is also,
of course, also the chance that you have been merrily scheduling in gym appointments
and book clubs and all sorts of other details relating to New Year’s resolutions (have
you kept yours so far?) but we’ll take the opportunity to add a resolution to your list:
learn where we got the names for all the months of the year. Spoilers: it’s a mixture of
gods, rulers, and numbers.

January
January is named after the Roman god Janus, who presided over doors and beginnings
– appropriately enough, for the beginning of the year (though this is, as you will
discover, not as straightforward as it seems). Indeed, Janus was usually depicted with
two faces looking backwards and forwards, as is often characteristic of a new year; this
also gave rise to the term Janus word for words that have two opposite meanings.

February
February is ultimately based on Latin februarius, from februa. In case that’s not helped
things become clearer, februa was the name of a purification feast held on the 15th of
this month. February is a divisive issue in modern pronunciation, with both Feb-yoo-
ary and Feb-roo-ary being commonly heard.

March
Which god gets a planet and a month named after him? You’ve guessed it: Mars. Why
him? As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, ‘In ancient Rome several festivals of
Mars took place in March, presumably in preparation for the campaigning season, since
Mars was a god of war.’

April
We know that the English word April comes from the Latin Aprillis, the fourth month of
the ancient Roman calendar, but things are less clear after that. In Old English, April
was also sometimes called Eastermonab, ‘Easter month’.

May
The month is connected with the goddess Maia. Perhaps less well known now than the
other deities with months named after them, Maia (in Greek mythology) was daughter
of Atlas and mother of Hermes. She was considered a nurturer and an earth goddess,
which may explain the connection with this springtime month. Although may is
a common modal verb, the month and the word are unrelated.

June
Having conceded one month to a Greek deity, we’re now back with the Romans: June is
named after the ancient Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and goddess of marriage
and childbirth. June was also once sometimes known as midsummer month.

July
The first month in the calendar named after a real person, July was named in honour of
Julius Caesar after his death in 44 BC, July being the month of his birth. Before it was
renamed, the month was known as Quintilis (borrowed into English as Quintile), which
means ‘fifth’. If you’ve been counting, you’ll know that July isn’t the fifth month: we’ll
come on to that when we reach September and October.

August
Following suit, in 8 BC, the month Sextilis (‘sixth’) was renamed after Augustus, the
first Roman emperor and great-nephew to Julius Caesar. Augustus himself was given
this title when he became emperor, having previously been known as Octavian. It came
from the Latin augustus meaning ‘consecrated, venerable’ which gave rise to the
English adjective august, ‘respected and impressive’.

September
September follows on from Quinitlis and Sextilis, in that it comes from the
Latin septem, ‘seven’. As with those (and the rest of the calendar), the numbering is a
bit off now: September was originally the seventh month in an ancient Roman ten-
month calendar, which started with March.

October
More of the same: octo is the Latin for ‘eight’, for that ten month calendar. Two months
were added to the end of the calendar year around 713 BC, and the beginning of the
year was moved to 1 January in 153 BC.

November
The pattern continues: November comes from novem, ‘nine’. November is also, we’re
afraid, used ‘with allusion to November’s position at the end of the year, and to the
characteristic greyness, gloominess, etc., associated with it in the northern hemisphere’.
The earliest known example of this allusive use comes from Jane Austen’s
posthumously published novel Persuasion.

December
And we finish off the year with December, from decem, ‘ten’. The month also comes
with a brace of adjectives: Decemberish and Decemberly, the latter of which can also be
used as an adverb. And there you have it: a whole calendar year of etymologies to see
you through the whole of 2016.