WORDS ABOUT TIME

The everyday words we use when we talk and write about time come from all kinds of
origins. The names of our months and days have their own fascinating histories. Most of them
are associated with ancient gods.
Where did 'calendar' come from?
The word calendar came into English after the Norman Conquest (you know what
happened in 1066 and afterwards!). The word came from the Norman French language of the
invaders: calender or calendier. They had borrowed it from the language of the ancient
Romans Latin kalendarium meant 'account-book'. The first day of the month, called
kalendae, was when accounts were due and debts had to be paid. So it was all to do with
money!

TEN MONTHS IN THE YEAR

There were several different calendars in the ancient world. There still are, in different
cultures. About 2,600 years the old Roman calendar was based on ten (not twelve) lunar
(related to the moon) months. The first month was March. Around 1,850 years ago, it was
changed January was made the first month. Two months were added to make a 12-month
calendar.

JULIUS CAESAR / THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR

Then in 46 BC, Julius Caesar was responsible for reforming the calendar to cover 365
days. This meant adjusting the previous lunar months and introducing a 'leap year' (an
bisect) to re-align to the lunar cycles. This calendar is known as the Julian calendar. It was
still inaccurate. In 1592, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new, more accurate system which is
known as the Gregorian calendar. That calendar, with a few later changes, is still in use.
The Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian Calendar is a revision of the Julian Calendar which was instituted in a
papal bull by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The reason for the calendar change was to correct
for drift in the dates of significant religious observations (primarily Easter) and to prevent
further drift in the dates.
The important effects of the change were:
- Drop 10 days from October 1582, to realign the Vernal Equinox with 21 March;
- Change leap year selection so that not all years ending in "00" are leap years;
- Change the beginning of the year to 1 January from 25 March;
- Despite a frequently repeated factoid these days, there is no special treatment of years which
are divisible by 4000;
- Since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the difference between Gregorian and
Julian calendar dates has increased by three days every four centuries:

Gregorian range Julian range (Difference)

From 15 October 1582 to 10 March 170; From 5 October 1582 to 28 February 1700 (10 days)
From 11 March 1700 to 11 March 1800; From 29 February 1700 to 28 February 1800 (11 days)
From 12 March 1800 to 12 March 1900; From 29 February 1800 to 28 February 1900 (12 days)
From 13 March 1900 to 13 March 2100; From 29 February 1900 to 28 February 2100 (13 days)
From 14 March 2100 to 14 March 2200; From 29 February 2100 to 28 February 2200 (14 days)

The main aspect that gets any attention these days is the leap year rule. The change in
the number frequency of leap years (by dropping 3 every 400 years) slightly changes the
average year length to something closer to reality.
 Adoption of the new calendar was essentially immediate within Catholic countries. In
the Protestant countries, where papal authority was neither recognized not appreciated,
adoption came more slowly.
England finally adopted the new calendar in 1752, with eleven days removed from
September. The additional day came because the old and new calendars disagreed on whether
1700 was a leap year, so the Julian calendar had to be adjusted by one more day.
The Gregorian year length gives an error of one day in approximately 3,225 years.

DAYS OF THE WEEK

day
from Old English dg, a Germanic word with similar associated words in other
European languages. The word comes from an ancient root meaning 'the time when the sun is
hot'.
Odd fact: It is not related to the Latin word dies(,-ei), day, from which we get words
such as diary and dial, which also deal with the passage of time.
Our word 'day' is related to dawn, which comes from Old English dagian, 'to become
day'; and also to daisy, from Old English dges eage, meaning 'day's eye'. This refers to the
way the flower opens its petals in the morning and closes them at night.

week
The modern word comes directly from Middle English wyke, wowke, weke. They, in
turn, came from the earlier Old English wice, wicu, wucu. The ancient root of the word meant
'order'.
Special note: Old English (engleza veche); Middle English (perioada de mijloc a
formarii limbii engleze); Modern English (engleza moderna, actuala).
This term (week) was originally used to denote a period in which a series of events
took place. Unlike the month and year, the concept of a week has nothing to do with the Sun
or Moon it has no astronomical basis. It was introduced to the calendar in about 312 AD
by the Roman emperor Constantine. The magic number 7 was borrowed from ancient
Babylonians myths and beliefs. You can find the same set of seven days in the first book of
the Bible, Genesis.

THE GODS OF THE DAYS

THE DAYS OF THE WEEK ROMAN GODS OF THE GERMANIC AND NORSE
DAYS GODS
SUNDAY Sol (the Sun)
MONDAY Luna (the Moon)
TUESDAY Mars Tiu, Tiw, Ziu
THIRSDAY Mercury Thor
WEDNESDAY Jove (Jupiter) Woden, Odin
FRIDAY Venus Freya, Frigg
SATURDAY Saturn

Sunday (the 1st day of the week)

- from Old English sunnandg, which is a translation of the Latin dies solis, day of the sun.
Sol was the Roman god of the sun. You can still see his name in words such as solar.
Monday
- from Old English monandg, meaning moons day, translated from the Latin lunae dies,
day of the moon. Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon. Her name is the basis of words
like lunar.
Tuesday
- from Old English tiwesdaeg, meaning day of Tiw, also called Tiu, the Anglo-Saxon god of
war, equivalent of Tyr in Norse mythology. The Latin name for this day was dies Martis, day
of Mars, in honour of the Roman god of war. So Tuesday is a rather war-like day!
Thursday
- from Old English thursdg, Thor's day. Thor was the Norse god of thunder. The Romans
called this day dies Jovis, Jove's day, in honour of Jove (Jupiter), the ruler of the gods. Our
word thunder is derived from Thor, but Jove is the source of our word jovial!
Wednesday
- from Old English wodnesdaeg, day of Woden or Wodin, the main Anglo-Saxon god,
equivalent of the Norse god Odin. The Romans called this day Mercurii dies, day of Mercury,
to honour the messenger of the gods. The Romans borrowed Mercury from the ancient
Greeks, who named him Hermes.
Friday
- from Old English frigedaeg, Frigg's day, Freya's day. Freya was the Norse goddess of love.
Alternatively, it might be from Frigg or Frigga + dg (day). Frigga was the wife of Odin.
The old Roman name for this day was dies Vener, in honour of their goddess of love, Venus.
Saturday
- from Old English sternedg, translated from Latin Saturni dies, Saturn's day. Saturn was
the Roman god of agriculture.

Zilele saptamanii (The days of the Week)

Sunday (Sun.) = duminica; Thursday (Thurs.) = joi;
Monday (Mon.) = luni; Friday (Fri.) = vineri;
Tuesday (Tue.) = marti; Saturday (Sat.) = sambata
Wednesday (Wed.) = miercuri;

Months of the Year

The list below shows the months of the year used in English-speaking countries and
many other parts of the world. The list shows the order of the months, starting from January
(month 1).
The abbreviations or short forms shown are the most common, but other abbreviations
are possible, for example: Ja./Fe./Ma. or J./F./M.
The days column shows the number of days in the month. All months have 30 or 31
days, except for February which has 28 days (29 in a leap year).
The seasons are approximate and depend on latitude. Some parts of the world have
only three seasons. The seasons shown here are for the North Temperate Zone (for example
North America). In the southern hemisphere, the seasons are reversed.
Every fourth year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. This year is called
a "leap year" and the 29th of February is a "leap day". A leap year has 366 days instead of the
normal 365.

The Old English names for the months give you some idea of what concerned people
1,500 years ago. They describe what happened at different times of the year. Remember, these
relate to life in the northern hemisphere.
JANUARY
In the Roman calendar, Januarius mensis, the month of Janus the god of gates who
looked both backwards and forwards, signifying the gate into the new year. Because this
month included the festival of Janus, it later became the first month of the year.
 The Old English names for this month were tera Geola after Yule, a name used by
Christians. Yule was a pagan festival.
Formamonath first-month
Wulfmonath wolf-month, because that's when they roamed in search of food!
FEBRUARY
In the Roman calendar, Februarius mensis, the month of februa, the feast of
purification. Februus was the Etruscan god of riches, represented in Roman mythology by
Dis Pater, rich father.
The Old English name for this month was solmonath, mud-month, because the rain
made the soil and the fields difficult for people to work in..
MARCH
In the Roman calendar, Martius mensis, month of Mars, the god of war. In the earlier
Roman calendar, it was the first of ten months in the year. (The twelve month year was
devised later.)
In Old English, it was hrethmonath, fierce-month, because it was a time of blustery
winds.
APRILIE
In the Roman calendar, Aprilis. It was the second month in the older Roman calendar,
which had only ten months. Its name might have come from Latin aperire, to open,
referring to the Spring opening of buds and blossoms. It might also be a dedication to the
Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite (who was called Venus in Roman mythology).
Earlier versions in English, from about the 13th century, included Aperill, Averil and
the French Avril.
In Old English, it was eastermonath Easter-month. Eostre was the Germanic goddess
of fruits and fertility whose name was borrowed by the Christian Church for the festival of
Easter.
MAY
In the Roman calendar, Maius, related to the Greek goddess Maia, the mother of
Hermes (who was called Mercury in Roman mythology).
An Old English name for this month was thrimilce, three-milk, because cows were
very productive at this time and could be milked three times a day.
JUNE
In the Roman calendar, Junius, the name of some Roman general, or perhaps Juno,
the queen of the gods.
An Old English name for the month was seremonath, dry-month different from the
mud-month of February!
JULY
In the Roman calendar, Julius (the famous Julius Caesar) in whose honour it was
named in 44BC. In the older Roman calendar, this was the 5th month, Quintilis.
In Old English, we find the picturesque name mdmonath, meadow-month, the time
when cattle could feed in the meadows.
AUGUST
In the Roman calendar, named after the emperor Augustus in 8BC. In the older Roman
calendar, the month was originally Sextilis, the 6th month.
In the Old English calendar, it was weodmonath, weed-month. Weod meant grass and
herbs, not just weeds as we know them. Harvesting the fruits of flourishing plants came in the
following month.
SEPTEMBER
The name in the Roman calendar is from Latin septem, seven. This was the 7th month
of the earlier Roman calendar.
 In Old English, herfestmonath, harvest-month, and later haligmonath, holy-month,
in the Christian calendar. This was because Mary, the mother of Jesus, was believed to have
been born on September 8th.
OCTOBER
The name in the Roman calendar is from Latin octo, eight. It was the 8th month in the
older Roman calendar.
In Old English, it was winmonath, wine-month, the time when grapes were gathered
for wine-making.
NOVEMBER
In the Roman calender, the name came from Latin novem, nine. It was the 9th month
of the earlier Roman calendar.
An Old English name was blotmonath, blood-month, denoting the period of butchering
animals and salting their meat for the coming winter. It was also called windmonath, wind-
month, because the seas became too rough for fishermen to do their work.
DECEMBER
In the Roman calendar, the name came from Latin decem, ten. It was the 10th and last
month of the older Roman calendar.
In Old English, we find rra Geloa, early Yule, the first period of the pagan festival
which was later borrowed and adapted by the Christian church to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Special note: This is why Christmas is sometimes still called Yuletide.

Month(Short Form) Days Season

1 January (Jan.) 31 Winter
2 February (Feb.) 28/29 Winter
3 March (Mar.) 31 Spring
4 Aprilie (Apr.) 30 Spring
5 May (May) 31 Spring
6 June (Jun.) 30 Summer
7 July (Jul.) 31 Summer
8 August(Aug.) 31 Summer
9 September (Sep.) 30 Autumn
10 October (Oct.) 31 Autumn
11 November (Nov.) 30 Autumn
12 December (Dec.) 31 Winter

Lunile anului (The Months of the Year)

January (Jan.) = ianuarie; July = iulie;
February (Feb.) = februarie; August = august;
March (Mar.) = martie; September (Sept.) = septembrie;
April (Apr.) = aprilie; October (Oct.) = octombrie;
May = mai; November (Nov.) = noiembrie;
June = iunie; December (Dec.) = decembrie

The seasons

The Earth's seasons are not caused by the differences in the distance from the Sun
throughout the year (these differences are extremely small). The seasons are the result of the
tilt of the Earth's axis.
 The Earth's axis is tilted from perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic by 23.45. This
tilting is what gives us the four seasons of the year - spring, summer, autumn (fall) and
winter. Since the axis is tilted, different parts of the globe are oriented towards the Sun at
different times of the year.
Summer is warmer than winter (in each hemisphere) because the Sun's rays hit the
Earth at a more direct angle during summer than during winter and also because the days are
much longer than the nights during the summer. During the winter, the Sun's rays hit the Earth
at an extreme angle, and the days are very short. These effects are due to the tilt of the Earth's
axis.
Solstices
The solstices are days when the Sun reaches its farthest northern and southern
declinations. The winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 and marks the beginning of
winter (this is the shortest day of the year). The summer solstice occurs on June 21 and
marks the beginning of summer (this is the longest day of the year).
Equinoxes
Equinoxes are days in which day and night are of equal duration. The two yearly
equinoxes occur when the Sun crosses the celestial equator.
The vernal equinox occurs in late March (this is the beginning of spring in the
Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of fall in the Southern Hemisphere); the
autumnal equinox occurs in late September (this is the beginning of fall in the Northern
Hemisphere and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere).

Atentie! In limba engleza, zilele si lunile anului se scriu numai cu majuscula.