Februarius

Forms

Februārius (feminine Februāria, neuter Februārium); first/second-declension adjective^[1] Inscriptions also have ⟨febrarius⟩.^[2][3] The Appendix Probi corrects ⟨Febrarius⟩ to ⟨Februarius⟩.^[4][5] Medieval spellings include ⟨Febroarius⟩ and ⟨freboarius⟩.^[6][7]

Etymology

It is from Latin februum (“means of purification”) + -ārius, the month of the ⟨februa⟩, the rites of purification held in it.^[2][1][8][3] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of that noun.^[8]

Ancient writers explained the name in several ways.^[9] Varro reports a derivation from the gods of the underworld, because offerings were then made to the dead, but himself prefers the day of purification, when the people were purified;^[9][3][10] Ovid derives it from the means of purification with which the Luperci purify the ground.^[9] Festus, in Paul the Deacon's abridgement, names a Juno called Februata, whose feast was the Lupercalia,^[9] and Servius and Isidore a god Februus, whom they identify with Pluto.^[9][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro is its first author: he says that the twelfth month was February, and dates by the Nones of February.^[2][8][5]

Semantic evolution

It was used both as an adjective, mēnsis Februārius, Kalendae Februāriae, and on its own as a noun.^[2][3][12] According to Lewis & Short and Georges it was the last month of the Roman year until the time of the decemvirs, and the second after that.^[3][12] Cicero, Ovid and Pliny the Elder use it;^[2][3][9] the inscriptions and the Appendix Probi show the popular form Febrārius, which is the source of the Romance words.^[5][4]

In Medieval Latin it remained the name of the month, used above all in dating documents.^[6][13][7] Bede gives Old English Solmonath as its name,^[13] and Einhard says that Charlemagne called it hornung.^[6] Reiner of Liège uses the adjective of a winter that was late but harsh and reached its height in February.^[6] The month lives on in French février, Italian febbraio, Spanish hebrero, Portuguese fevereiro and Romanian făurar,^[5] and English February is recorded from the late 14th century.^[14]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro says that February was once the twelfth month.^[2][15]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses mēnsis Februārius.^[2][15]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid explains the name from the means of purification.^[9][15]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder dates from the Ides of February.^[3][16][15]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore derives it from Februus, that is Pluto.^[11][9][15]
• first third of the 8th century AD – Bede gives the Old English name Solmonath.^[13][15]
• 748 – A Freising charter is dated by the twelfth day of February.^[6][15]
• 1119 – French février is recorded.^[5]
• late 14th century – English February is recorded.^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of February: mēnsis Februārius, the month of February;^{[2][3][12][17]} Nōnae Februāriae, the Nones of February.^{[2][3][12][17]}
2. (Medieval Latin) Taking place or reaching its height in February.^[6]

Noun

1. February (short for mēnsis Februārius).^{[2][3][16][1]}

Related words

• februum
• februō
• English February

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Appendix Probi, a late antique list of correct and censured Latin word forms ("calida non calda"); ed. H. Keil, Grammatici Latini IV, Leipzig 1864, 197–199.
5. ^ a b c d e Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
6. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (1960–; online ed. 2025), Barcelona: CSIC / Institució Milà i Fontanals, gmlc.imf.csic.es
8. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ Marcus Terentius Varro, De lingua Latina (text of The Latin Library; book and paragraph numbers as there).
11. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
12. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
13. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
14. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
15. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
16. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
17. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier