The word “september” originated from the word “septem” in latin. what does it mean?

It’s September, and that always makes me think of the names of the months. September of course, is the ninth month of the year, but the name might make you think it’s the seventh, if you know your You see, the root of the name September is septem, the Latin word for the number seven. And the reason for this is that the old Roman calendar was believed to have ten months, beginning with March (Martius), therefore making September the seventh month of the year. You can see this pattern in the following three months, which are all derived from the Latin for the numbers eight ( octo), nine ( novem), and ten ( decem). Note I said that some believe the oldest Roman calendar had ten months, because it’s quite debated among historians. The main argument for a ten-month calendar is the naming of the months: why else would the last month of the year be named after the number ten? Whatever the reason behind the names, the Roman calendar was replaced by the Julian calendar in 45BC. Devised by Ianuarius – January Februarius – February Martius – Mars Aprilis – April Maius – May Iunius – June Quintilis – Iulius (renamed later in honour of Julius Caesar) – July Sextilis – Augustus (similarly renamed for Caesar Augustus) – August And the last four haven’t changed at all. But if the etymology of these months is pretty straightforward (and Quintilus and Sextilis meant fifth and sixth month respectively), what about the first four? Ianuarius is generally thought to be named after Janus, the Ro...

Imagine the following scenario: you're at a dinner party, or some other such social gathering, and are explaining to a small child that December, the twelfth month of the year, is when such holidays as Christmas and Hanukkah occur, when suddenly you are interrupted by a fellow who informs you that December is not, in point of fact, the twelfth month of the year. Many complain when the word 'awesome' is used to describe things that are not, in fact, deserving of awe. Yet few object when 'awful' is used to mean something other than "full of awe." Isn't that awfully strange? Since you have the spirit of politeness, you raise an eyebrow or two and ask for clarification. Your interrupter obliges and begins to explain his reasoning: "see, the name December is based on the Latin word decem, which means “ten,” and does not mean “twelve,” so it actually is the tenth month of the year..." Most of us, it seems safe to assume, would at this point begin to slowly back away from the crazy man with the rigid adherence to etymological fidelity, making sure as we do so that he does not have any sharp object in his hands, and if he does, making additionally sure that the aforementioned small child is positioned between us and said crazy man. And yet, had the scenario been slightly different—if one were perhaps explaining to a small child the proper method for decem) was most properly used to refer to removing one tenth of a thing, such as soldiers in a regiment as a form of military punishm...

Closed 4 years ago. If I understand correctly, the words September, October, November and December all come from French counterpart Septembre, Octobre, Novembre and Decembre, and ultimately from Latin septem, octo, novem and decem with a suffix -bre. Therefore I suppose their original meaning were from " 7th month of a year" to " 10th month of a year". Apparently those words stand for " 9th month" to " 12th month" nowadays, so why and how did this happen? According to the OED, the switch from month number 7 to 9 was made well before English was even a language: The ancient Roman calendar (dating from around the mid 8th cent. b.c.) had ten months; c713 b.c. January and February were added to the end. In 153 b.c. the beginning of the year was moved to 1 January, when the Roman consuls were elected. This new ordering of the months remained when the Julian calendar was introduced in 45 b.c. and in the Gregorian calendar widely used today. We only use the word "September" in English because it was brought in from Latin. Possibly worth mentioning the commonly accepted - but incorrect - belief that the insertion of Julius and Augustus Caesar's months bumped the 7th-10th months up by two. Especially as the months that were replaced by July and August were 'Quintillis' and 'Sextillis' with obvious links to their 5th and 6th positions in the previous calendar.

Recent Examples on the Web In September 2016, Treat celebrated his daughter’s 18th birthday with a sweet snap on Twitter. — Karli Bendlin, Peoplemag, 13 June 2023 Libra September 23-October 22 Everyone seems to want a piece of you at present. — Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2023 The number of public disturbances, assaults or incidents of intoxication and offensive behavior at Sydney and Melbourne airports — the country’s two primary aviation hubs — soared to 463 between March and September last year from 279 in the same period a year earlier, according to the AFP. — Ragini Saxena, Fortune, 12 June 2023 Biden announced his support for adding new permanent seats to the council, including spots for African and Latin American nations, at the UN General Assembly gathering in September. — Missy Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 12 June 2023 The Post obtained the data after an inquiry in September led by Markey. — Meryl Kornfield, Kyle Rempfer, Steven Rich, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2023 Come hear live music for free as part of the Music on Main Concert Series each summer on Thursdays from June through September, or during any of the other festivals held here throughout the year. — Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 12 June 2023 Newsom’s infrastructure plan remains the biggest point of contention between the governor and lawmakers, who have questioned why the bills must be passed now instead of through the regular and more deliberative legislative process for policy issue...