September, October, November and December
- PostEagle
- October 20, 2016
- Word Etymology
- 0 Comments
The words for today are September, October, November, and December.
In the ancient Roman calendar, the months were: Mars, April, May, June, Quintrilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December… January and February were added later to the end of the year.
This should explain why
September – from the Latin word – Septem- meaning 7 is now the 9th month
October – from the Latin word – Octo – meaning 8 is now the 10th month
November – meaning 9 is now the 11th month and finally
December- from the Latin word – Decem – meaning 10 is now the 12th month.
The calendar was developed in Mesopotamia and reached its accuracy in ancient Egypt. The Romans tried to improve on this calendar. Julius Caesar changed the month of Quintilis to Julius and Augustus changed Sextilis to Augustus.
In ancient times the month of September was really the 7th month, October was really the 8th month and so on. It is evident now, with the addition of January and February at the beginning of the year, why September is the 9th month.