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How the Months Got Their Names Lyrics by Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor

2014

Welcome to Ask the Editor. I’m Kory Stamper, an Associate Editor at Merriam-Webster.
Would you like to have your mind blown? Okay. October, our 10th month of the year, comes from the Latin word that means “eight.” I know, right? There are certain things you come to expect in life, like a month whose name means “eight” would be the eighth month of the year. Is there an explanation for this? There actually is.
In 738 B.C., Romulus, who supposedly founded Rome, created a calendar that was 304 days long, consisted of 10 months, and started with the spring equinox. The first months were named to honor the gods: Martius for Mars, Maius for Maia (the mother of Mercury), and Junius for Juno. April, or Aprilis, broke that mold. It likely came from the Latin verb that means “to open.”
The remaining six months were originally given ordinal names: Quintilis for the fifth month, and then, in ascending numerical order, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. Then came a 61-day no man’s land between the end of the Roman year and the beginning of the Roman year. The second king of Rome thought that void was stupid and filled the gap with Januarius, after the god Janus, and Februarius, after a Roman feast of spiritual cleansing.
Quintilis and Sextilis were later changed to Julius and Augustus, to honor some Roman emperors, and voilà—there are all our months. Great, but why do we so call the 10th month of the year October? Because even though Julius Caesar decided in 46 B.C. to move the beginning of the year to January, the names were established at that point. Others have tinkered with the months’ names over the centuries, but the names from the Julian calendar seem to have stuck.
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Credits
Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster

About “How the Months Got Their Names” by Merriam-Webster

Read the complete lyrics to "How the Months Got Their Names" by Merriam-Webster from the album "Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor" in 2014. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Literature.

"How the Months Got Their Names" is performed by Merriam-Webster. from the album "Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor" in 2014 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "How the Months Got Their Names", explore more songs by Merriam-Webster using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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"How the Months Got Their Names" appears on "Merriam-Webster Ask the Editor" in 2014.

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