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We begin with the standard German names, which need no translation into English. <br>Januar—from the Roman god of gates, Janus, who was depicted with two faces, indicating an <br> end and a beginning. His festival was in January.<br>Februar—From Latin februaris, the festival of purification that took place in February<br>März—named for the Roman god of war, Mars<br>April—origin unknown, but perhaps the ‘month of Venus’ from an Etruscan form of the Greek ‘Aphrodite’<br>Mai—named for Maia, goddess of spring<br>Juni—named for the goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and of well being of women<br>Juli—named after Julius Caesar. Renamed from Quinctilis, which meant ‘fifth’ because July <br> used to be the fifth month<br>August—named after Augustus Caesar. Renamed from Sextilis, which meant ‘sixth' because<br>August used to be the sixth month<br>September— from Latin septem, meaning ‘seven’ because September used to be the seventh <br> month<br>Oktober— from Latin octo, meaning ‘eight’ because Oktober used to be the eighth month<br>November— from Latin novem, meaning ‘nine’ because November used to be the ninth month<br>Dezember—from Latin decem, meaning ‘ten’ because December used to be the tenth month | We begin with the standard German names, which need no translation into English. <br>Januar—from the Roman god of gates, Janus, who was depicted with two faces, indicating an <br> end and a beginning. His festival was in January.<br>Februar—From Latin februaris, the festival of purification that took place in February<br>März—named for the Roman god of war, Mars<br>April—origin unknown, but perhaps the ‘month of Venus’ from an Etruscan form of the Greek ‘Aphrodite’<br>Mai—named for Maia, goddess of spring<br>Juni—named for the goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and of well being of women<br>Juli—named after Julius Caesar. Renamed from Quinctilis, which meant ‘fifth’ because July <br> used to be the fifth month<br>August—named after Augustus Caesar. Renamed from Sextilis, which meant ‘sixth' because<br>August used to be the sixth month<br>September— from Latin septem, meaning ‘seven’ because September used to be the seventh <br> month<br>Oktober— from Latin octo, meaning ‘eight’ because Oktober used to be the eighth month<br>November— from Latin novem, meaning ‘nine’ because November used to be the ninth month<br>Dezember—from Latin decem, meaning ‘ten’ because December used to be the tenth month | ||
In old documents months were often indicated by numerals, both Arabic and Latin. These are not really names of the months, but written designations only | In old documents months were often indicated by numerals, both Arabic and Latin. These are not really names of the months, but written designations only. The researcher must be careful when numbers appear, as they are of two types. The first are simply Roman numerals that indicate the number of month: | ||
I—January | |||
II—February | |||
III—March | |||
IV—April | |||
V—May | |||
VI—June | |||
VII—July | |||
VIII—August | |||
IX—September | |||
X—October | |||
XI—November | |||
XII—December | |||
The following numbers, however, do not designate the number of the month, but rather the name of the month in Latin when these months were the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months, respectively. For example, 7 and VII were ''septem ''in Latin, so 7ber and VII were September, not July. And so on. These numbers are used with suffixes that indicate that the number is to be spoken and pronounced as the standard names and does not represent the number of the month. | |||
7ber—September<br>7bris—September<br>8ber—October<br>8bris—October<br>9ber—November<br>9bris—November<br>10ber—December <br>10bris—December <br>VIIber—September<br>VIIbris—September<br>VIIIber—October<br>VIIIbris—October<br>IXber—November<br>IXbris—November<br>Xber—December <br>Xbris—December | 7ber—September<br>7bris—September<br>8ber—October<br>8bris—October<br>9ber—November<br>9bris—November<br>10ber—December <br>10bris—December <br>VIIber—September<br>VIIbris—September<br>VIIIber—October<br>VIIIbris—October<br>IXber—November<br>IXbris—November<br>Xber—December <br>Xbris—December | ||