英语故事-月份的起源

英语故事---月份的起源
古代文化中，一年的前八月或前十月都有名称，但最后几个 月份，因为它们在农业社会中经
济上不重要，所以，没有名称。我们用December称为十二月，是 拉丁文Decem（代表“十”）
之后的名称，它指出是十月，而不是十二月。（September九 月）＝七月，October（十月）
＝八月，Noyeybyy（十一月）＝九月）。因为包含着大数 目，前科学的人们独特地不计算年
的日子，尽管他们在计算月份上是勤奋的。一位杰出的古代科学史和数 学史家奥托·诺杰巴
尔（Otto Neugebauer，1957年）评论说，在美索不达米和在埃 及两地，保留下两种彼此隔
离但又互相排斥的历法：民用历，它的特点是计算方便，以及经常是现代化的 农历——弄得
比较混乱，但与季节和天文实际更接近。许多古代文化用简单地在年底加上一个五天的假期
就解决这个两种历法的矛盾问题。我很难设想，前科学人们的历法习惯中三百六十天为一年
的存 在竟是强制证明了，当时在地球绕太阳旋转中确是自转360圈而不是365[14]圈。


a前缀=without ?mazon=breast
希腊传说中说有一种使希 腊军队大为头痛的女性兵团,她们把妨碍她们拉弓射箭的右侧乳房
切除.希腊人根据此传说而创造了这个 字.
1541年,西班牙探险家Orellana,对住在当时称为Rio Santa Maria De La 河流域部落的女性的
勇猛善战,感到印象深刻,因此将此河命名为THE AMAZON.此河发源于南美洲的安第斯山脉,
流经巴西,注入大西洋.
前几年甚嚣尘上的现在还依然健在.

法文中的OCT(A),OCTI,OCTO表示八的前缀.
如OCTAL八进制
OCTACORDE八弦琴
八卦OCTOI
英文中的OCTA,OCTO也是表示八的前缀
OCTAGON八角形
OCTAVO八开本
OCTOPUS八爪鱼
OCTOBER是十月为什么用OCT A的前缀呢,原来恺撒之前的罗马历是以三月MARCH为始,
共有十个月,当时的八月为OCTOBE R,后来加上一月JANUARY,二月FEBRUARY而成十二
个月,但其余各月的名称都不改变, 只是向后顺延而已,所以SETEMBER也由七月而成了九月.



另外原来罗马人以现在的三月为年始，而弩玛将年始提前二个月，这个年始一直用到今天。
但用惯了的 名称却没变。下面是中、拉丁、英文对各月的称呼和原意。 [cｃhｅ 西西
河 AleaJactaEst]

一月(中)Ianuarius(拉丁)January(英)
以亚奴斯神(Janus)为语源。
二月FebruariusFebruary
似乎是来源於清净之意，在这各月可以屠宰家畜。

三月MartiusMarch
以战神玛尔斯(Mars)为语源。原来罗马的一年之始。
四月AprilisApril
似乎是来源於开花(aperio)。
五月MariusMay
以旅行、商业之神墨丘利(Mercurius)为语源。
六月IuniusJune
以Iuno女神为语源。
七月IuliusJuly
因是凯萨(Caius Iulius Caesar) 的出生月而得名。在凯萨死前，被称为第五月
(Quintilius)，因为从三月为始数起为第五个 月。
八月叶月AugustusAugust
以罗马第一任皇帝奥古斯地(Augustus)命名。在这之前被称为第六月(Sextilis)。 [ｃｃ
ｈｅｒｅ.net 西西河 AleaJactaEst]
九月长月SeptemberSeptember
第七月之意。
十月神无月OctoberOctober
第八月之意。
十一月霜月NovemberNovember
第九月之意。
十二月师走DecemberDecember
第十月之意。

传说在公元前46年，罗马皇帝恺撒在修改历法时，规定每年为12个月，一、三、五、七、
十、十二 月定为大月，每月31天；其他月份定为小月，每月30天。这样，大小各6个月，
使人很容易记住，应 用起来也很方便。但是照这样规定，一年就不是365天，而是366天了，
因此得找出一个月扣去一天 。扣哪个月合适呢？那个时候被判处死刑的犯人都在二月份处
死，所以人们都希望二月能快点过去。于是 ，就把二月扣去了一天。这样，二月就剩下29
天了。后来，有一个叫奥古斯特的人做了罗马皇帝。他发 现恺撒是七月份生的，七月是大月，
而他自己是八月份生的，八月却是小月。他为了显示自己和前一位皇 帝有同样尊严，就蛮横
地把八月也定为大月，改为31天。而八月多出的这一天仍然从二月份扣除，这样 ，二月只
剩下28天了。只是每过4年，也就是闰年，二月才是29天。这就是二月份天数少的来历。



Months of the Year
JANUARY
When the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve and December
Passes into January, we say farewell to the year just gone and we hail the New Year ahead. It is
fitting that first month should be called January, for the Roman god Janus who gave this month its
name was always represented with two faces, one that gazed at the past and one that looked to the
future. However, before the name January was adopted in English, this month was called
Wulf-Monath, or “wolf-month”, because at this time of the year the bitter cold brought wolves
into the villages to forage for food.

FEBRUARY
The middle of the month of February was marked in ancient Rome for a religious ceremony in
which women were beaten for barrenness. This was called the festival of Lupercalia and was held
in a cave by the river Tiber. Two youths were selected to play the leading role in the celebration.
After the goats were sacrificed, thongs were cut from their hides and given to the
thongs were called februa, or “instruments of purification”, and should they strike a women, she
would no longer be barren. The two young men in question would run around the city with the
sacred thongs and give smart and “curative” slaps to any barren girls they saw. No one knows just
how they knew whom to hit although the barrenness of a women would probably be common
knowledge in any village. However this may be, the magic power of the thongs came from Juno,
whose epithet as the goddess of fertility was Februaria, and from this word we took the name of
our month. February had 29 days, but the Roman Senate took one away and gave it to August, so
that August would not be inferior to July. It’s a long step down from all this romance to the
original native name for February. The factual English simply called it SProte-kalemonath because
the cabbages were sprouting.
MARCH
Before the time of Julius Caesar, the Roman New Year began with the month of Marth. This was
not only the beginning of the year but was the open spring season for the waging of war, so the
month was dedicated to mars, the god of war, and was named sfter him. Its Old English name was
Hlyd-Monath, that is, “boisterous-month”, because of the winds. And, by the way , the expression
“mad as a March hare “ comes from the fact that March is the mating season for hares, and are
supposedly full of whimsy all month.
APRIL
This was the month of the first flowers in ancient Italy, as it is with us, and the opening spring
buds gave the month its name. The Rome name was Aprilis, based on the Latin word aperio with
means “open”. The early Britons, on the other hand, lacked the poetry of the Mediterrancen. They
rather flat-footedly called April Easter-Monath, or “Easter-month”, Of course, April brings in
April Fool’s Day, and this recalls the festivities held by all ancient peoples at the vernal equinox,
beginning on their New Year’s Day, March 25th, and ending on April 1st . It was not until the 18th
century in Great Britain that April Fool’s Day, as we know it, was created. The theory about this
day traces the tradition back to the medieval miracle plays that used to represent the sending of
Christ from Pilate to Herod.
MAY
This is when “the time of the singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land”.
Sir Thomas Malory called it “the lusty moneth of May”. It is strange that the romantic time of
May has always been considered unlucky for marriage. The Romans objected to it for the quite
understandable reason that it contained the feast in honor of Bona Dea who was the goddess of
chastity. Also the festival of the unhappy dead fell in the month of May. The name May, in Latin,
Maius, is believed by many to have come from Maia who was the mother of the god Hermes. The
native English had a less romantic but much more practical name for the month . They called it
Thrimilce because , in the long , spring days , the cows could be milked three time between
sunrise and evening .
JUNE
This name is probably form Junius , the name of Latin family to which the murderers of Julius

Caesar belonged . Some scholars believe , however , that the name June came form the goddess
Juno who was the protectress of women since June has been the favorite month for marriages all
the way down form earliest Rome . It can be that the ancient taboos against May marriages are
responsible for our modern June rush to the altar . The English name for June was Sere-Monath .
or “dry-month .”
JULY
The name of this month was proposed by Mark Antony , the Roman general and famous lover of
Cleopatra . Antony suggested that this birthday month of Caius Julius Casesar be named Julius in
his honor , and the name came into use the year of Caesar’s assassination . In English , the spelling
became first Julie , then July . But before the English adopted the Latin name , they had called the
month Mad- Monath , or “meadow-month ,” since the meadows were in bloom and the cattle were
in pasture .
AUGUST
Octavian ,the first Roman emperor ,was the nephew of Julius Caesar , and longed to gain the fame
and power of his uncle . He wanted , among other things , to have a month named after him . His
birthday was in September , but he selected what is now known as August , for this particular
month had been a fortunate one in his career . The Senate had given Octavian the official title of
Augustus in honor of his distinguished sercices to the state , so the month he had chosen became
Augistus , which we have shortened to August . The prosy and downright English had called this
the Weod- Monath , or “weed-month ,” although , in fairness , the word “weed” yhen applied to
greenery in general .
SEPTEMBER
Inasmush as the Roman year originally started in March ,September was their seventh month , and
the name is taken from the Latin word septem which meant “seven .”When the calendar was
changed and September became the ninth month , the name was not altered . Charlemagne , who
was Emperor of the West at the beginning of the 9
th
century , refused to accept the Roman name
and called September the “harvest-month .”England followed suit , and for a long time September
was konwen as Harfest-Monath .The harvest then was largely barley , which the thirsty English
promptly converted into ale .
OCTOBER
This is the season when the smoke of burning leaves is apt to be in the air . Even the Roman poet
Martial called October “fumosus ,” or “smoky ,” because the time for lighting fires was at hand .
Officially though , the name remained October from the Latin octo , “eight ,” for this month was
the eighth on the list before the calendar was altered . The Roman general Germanicus Caesar
wanted the month named after him , but he never got very far with his wish . The English first
gave the name Win-Monath , or “wine- month ,” to October , and probably a little elderberry wine
and such were concocted , but the real preoccupation was the “Brown October Ale “ that we still
sing about today .
NOVEMBER
Since the Emperor Augustus had his month and Julius Caesar his , the polite and politic Romans
thought it only proper to propose that November be renamed for the Emperor Tiberius . But
Tiberius objected and said rather wittily , “What will you do if you have eleven Caesars?” So the
name remained Novernber , from the Latin novem ,”nine .” To the forthright English November
was the Blot- Monath , or “sacrifice-month” as it was the time when the heathen Anglo-Saxons

sacrificed cattle to their gods . Sometimes they also called it the Wind-Monath , for obvious
reasons .
DECEMBER
Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus , Emperor of Rome toward the end of the 2
nd
century , once
asked his mistress how she would like to see her name on the calendar . “Amazonius ,” was the
name the emperor had in mind ,since the lady had once been painted as an Amazon , but the
Senate was not sympathetic and apparently told him to gao watch the gladiators and lions instead .
So December went on being called by its old name from decem , “ten,” since December was
originally the tenth month . The common name among the English for December was
Mid-Winter- Monath , although the Christians of the day called it Haligh-Monath , or
“Holy-Month ,”because of birth of Christ .
MONDAY
In mythology ,, the moon was the wife of the sun , and so had to have her day in the week , which
in Old English was Monandag , or “moon day ,” a translation of the Latin lunae dies ,”day of the
moon .” In the superstitious England of theose times people believed that the phases of the moon
affected crops and disthe potency medicine , and they were sure too that bacon killed on the old of
the moon would shrivel in the pan .
TUESDAY
In Norse mythology there was a god named Tyr . A wolf spirit called Fenrir was troubling the
world and Tyr volunteered to bind him . He used a chain made of strange substances , the footstep
of a cat , the beards of women , the roots of stones , the breath of fishes . Tyr put his hand in
Fenrir’s mouth and bound him , but his hand , in the , was bitten off . In Old English the god’s
name Tyr appears as Tiw . He was really a Germanic deity , one very much like Mars , the Roman
god of war , and his name gave us the Old English word Tiwesdag ,”the day of Tiw ,” OUR
Tuesday , which is a rendering of the Latin dies martis , “day of Mars .”
WEDNESDAY
In Old English Wednesday was spelled Wodnesdag , which was the day of the great Germanic god
Woden , who corresponded to the Roman divinity Mercury . Both were swift in movement and
noted for their eloquence . Woden was the father of Tyr ,who gave us the name Tuesday , and was
the god of storms . He welcomed brave warriors to the heaven of Valhalla and treated them to the
pleasures that they most loved on earth . He also slew Chaos and created earth from his body , his
flesh making the dry land , his bones the mountains , his blood the sea , his Mercurii dies , the
“day of Mercury ,” and the French took this over as Mercredi , their name for Wednesday .
THURSDAY
Thor was the strongest and bravest of the Norse deities , and corresponded in the heavenly
hierarchy to the Roman god Jupiter , who also handled the lightning bolts . Thor , you see , was
the god of thunder which he made with a chariot drawn by he-goats across the sky .Thor owned a
massive hammer which the giant Thrym once stole from him and refused to give up unless Freya ,
the goddess of love , would marry him . Thor dressed up in her clothes wheedled the hammer from
Thrym , and then slugged his host . It was the name of this same Thor that formed the Old English
word thuresdag , or Thursday , “the day of Thor ,” which equals the Roman dies jives , or “day of
Jupiter .”
FRIDAY
In Old English , Friday was frigedag , the day of the Norse goddess Frigg , wife of Woden and the

goddess Venus , and her day , Friday , was like the Latin dies Veneris , or “day of
Venus .”Wednesday and Thursday had been named for her husband Woden and her son Thor , so
Friday was assigned to her as appeasement . The Norsemen regarded Friday as their luxky day ,
but not so the Christians since the Crucifixion took place on Friday .
SATURDAY
In Old English saternesdag , merely “Saturn’s day ,” is half-translation and half-adoption of the
Latin Saturni dies , or “day of Saturn ,” the Roman god of sowing .
SUNDAY
Sunday replaced Saturday as the Sabbath because the Resurrection took place on a Sunday .It was
around the 4
th
century that the church made it a holiday and forebade anyone to work . In old
English it was spelled sunnandag , literally the “sun’s day ,” a translation of the Latin dies solis ,
or “day of the sun .”