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By : Dr . Joanie McConnell
Word Histories
Sept . 3 , 2018
Sept . 9 , 2018
Some words , like some families , have interesting histories replete with surprise , shock and even confusion . Today I would like to share two of these “ word histories ” with you .
Let ’ s start with a deceptively simple question ? What is the 9th month of the year ? Without a moment of hesitation , you will say September . Today that ’ s the correct answer , but September has not always been the 9th month .
To clarify this confusion , we have to step back in time and discover how the ancient Romans measured a year . According to tradition , the first Roman calendar was created by Romulus , the legendary founder of the city of Rome . This calendar had ten months , six of which had 30 days and four of which had 31 days . The remaining 61 days , which coincided with the winter season , had no name .
The calendar year began with March , named in honor of Mars , the Roman god of war . The 2nd month was April ( from the Latin verb aperire “ to open ”) when nature “ opens up ” again . May , the 3rdmonth , honored Maia , the Roman earth goddess , while June , the 4th month , was dedicated to Juno , the Roman goddess of marriage . ( Note 1 ) Today the tradition of June brides lives on !
The last six months took their names from Latin numbers : five to ten . ( Note 2 ). Quintilis was the 5th month followed by sixtilis , the 6th month . September , October , November and December were respectively the 7th , 8th , 9th and 10th months .
Unfortunately the ten-month calendar did not follow the
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