February is just one of many weirdly spelled words that the English language has to offer. For this one in particular — like the other 11 more intuitively spelled month names — we have Latin to thank.
In ancient Rome, the month of February was known as Februarius, a term that has to do with purification. Februare is Latin for "to purify," and februum describes a means of purification or an instrument used to purify. In short, February was the month of purification.
Why this was the case likely involves Lupercalia, a rather wild ancient festival that took place on February 15 and featured sacrifices, whippings, and possible nudity (or, at the very least, less clothing than people would wear on a normal day). Though we don't know exactly what Lupercalia was for, historical accounts suggest it had to do with stimulating pastoral prosperity and fertility through purification rituals.
According to Ovid's poem Fasti, pretty much anything that people used to purify something else was known as februa (the plural form of februum). Houses were purified with "roasted grain and salt," land was purified with strips of animal hide, priests wore crowns made of leaves from trees, and so on.
But the path from the Latin Februarius to our modern English February does contain a detour. Around 1200, Middle English speakers were calling the month Feverer, Feverell, and other alternate spellings that all came from the Old French Feverier.
While those words persisted for several more centuries, Latin-inspired iterations of the month — like Februere and Februari — started cropping up during the late 14th century. This reflected a larger trend toward Latin loanwords that was sweeping the English language at the time, and in February's case, the Latin versions eventually replaced the French ones.
As for why we don't bother pronouncing the first r in February, you can chalk it up to linguistic laziness. Basically, we have a tough time enunciating two r's near each other, so we sometimes just drop one. It's the same reason you might tend to say "suh-prise" instead of surprise and "gov-uh-nor" instead of governor
In ancient Rome, the month of February was known as Februarius, a term that has to do with purification. Februare is Latin for "to purify," and februum describes a means of purification or an instrument used to purify. In short, February was the month of purification.
Why this was the case likely involves Lupercalia, a rather wild ancient festival that took place on February 15 and featured sacrifices, whippings, and possible nudity (or, at the very least, less clothing than people would wear on a normal day). Though we don't know exactly what Lupercalia was for, historical accounts suggest it had to do with stimulating pastoral prosperity and fertility through purification rituals.
According to Ovid's poem Fasti, pretty much anything that people used to purify something else was known as februa (the plural form of februum). Houses were purified with "roasted grain and salt," land was purified with strips of animal hide, priests wore crowns made of leaves from trees, and so on.
But the path from the Latin Februarius to our modern English February does contain a detour. Around 1200, Middle English speakers were calling the month Feverer, Feverell, and other alternate spellings that all came from the Old French Feverier.
While those words persisted for several more centuries, Latin-inspired iterations of the month — like Februere and Februari — started cropping up during the late 14th century. This reflected a larger trend toward Latin loanwords that was sweeping the English language at the time, and in February's case, the Latin versions eventually replaced the French ones.
As for why we don't bother pronouncing the first r in February, you can chalk it up to linguistic laziness. Basically, we have a tough time enunciating two r's near each other, so we sometimes just drop one. It's the same reason you might tend to say "suh-prise" instead of surprise and "gov-uh-nor" instead of governor
×月（June）这个词来源于古罗马的 “Iunius”或 “Junius”，在古罗马历中是第 si 个月。
与以前说得的前几个月一样，在罗马共和国晚期，大家已经搞不清楚这个名称的由来了。奥维德干脆在 Fasti（岁时记）中直接让三位女神出来辩论，以代表三种可能的起源：朱诺（对应希腊神话中的赫拉）说来自于她的名字；青春女神尤文图斯（Iuventus or Juventus or Juventas，对应希腊神话中的赫柏）则说来自她的名字（对应的，上一个月 Maius 则源于“老年”的单词 maiores ）；最后和谐女神 Concordia 则说源于古罗马人和萨宾人的融合。最后也没分出谁对谁错。奥维德他老人家就用这样的糊涂账方式来描述这个月了。
×月是相对平静的一个月，没有太多重要的庆典活动。唯一重要的庆典就是“灶神节”，Vestalia，敬拜灶神维斯塔（Vesta，对应希腊神话中的赫斯提亚[憧憬]）的节日，从×月7日开始持续9天。从这个时长你就可以看出来，古罗马人对灶神的敬拜极其重视。维斯塔 chong 拜可能是在罗马建城时代就已经有相当重要的地位了。维斯塔的 ji 司——维斯塔贞女（Vestālēs）更是在罗马 zong 教和政治生活中具有相当影响力的团体。
维斯塔贞女是古罗马时期少见的全职神职人员。她们来自贵族阶层，必须保持绝对贞操 30年。她们穿着一种特殊的白色 ji 司袍，与现在西方的婚纱有重要联系。她们住在特殊的建筑中（维斯塔贞女之家），一个重大责任是看管灶神的圣火（在帝国时代更被认为是象征罗马皇帝的圣火），不能让它熄灭。由于其贞洁的个性和神圣不可侵犯的宗教地位，维斯塔贞女被赋予了保管重要人物的遗嘱（比如裘力斯·恺撒的）以及国家文件（例如公共条约）的职责。她们还可以在公共场合不必宣誓就进行做证。在女性地位低下的古罗马，维斯塔贞女的地位（虽然更多是荣誉地位）可以说非常突出。
在我经常提到的突尼斯 El Djem 的月份马赛克镶嵌画中。代表×月的画（图1）描绘的是两名卖饮料的小贩在亭子里为路人提供解渴饮料，提示六月意味着夏天的到来。在圣彼得堡艾尔米塔什博物馆的一幅3世纪马赛克镶嵌画（图2），告诉我们×月意味着物产开始丰富起来。我们可以看到一个漂亮的金色头发的小孩，穿着清凉的 colobium站在厨房里，室内有各种物产：花篮里的花、盘子里的水果以及台子上的海鲜。
与以前说得的前几个月一样，在罗马共和国晚期，大家已经搞不清楚这个名称的由来了。奥维德干脆在 Fasti（岁时记）中直接让三位女神出来辩论，以代表三种可能的起源：朱诺（对应希腊神话中的赫拉）说来自于她的名字；青春女神尤文图斯（Iuventus or Juventus or Juventas，对应希腊神话中的赫柏）则说来自她的名字（对应的，上一个月 Maius 则源于“老年”的单词 maiores ）；最后和谐女神 Concordia 则说源于古罗马人和萨宾人的融合。最后也没分出谁对谁错。奥维德他老人家就用这样的糊涂账方式来描述这个月了。
×月是相对平静的一个月，没有太多重要的庆典活动。唯一重要的庆典就是“灶神节”，Vestalia，敬拜灶神维斯塔（Vesta，对应希腊神话中的赫斯提亚[憧憬]）的节日，从×月7日开始持续9天。从这个时长你就可以看出来，古罗马人对灶神的敬拜极其重视。维斯塔 chong 拜可能是在罗马建城时代就已经有相当重要的地位了。维斯塔的 ji 司——维斯塔贞女（Vestālēs）更是在罗马 zong 教和政治生活中具有相当影响力的团体。
维斯塔贞女是古罗马时期少见的全职神职人员。她们来自贵族阶层，必须保持绝对贞操 30年。她们穿着一种特殊的白色 ji 司袍，与现在西方的婚纱有重要联系。她们住在特殊的建筑中（维斯塔贞女之家），一个重大责任是看管灶神的圣火（在帝国时代更被认为是象征罗马皇帝的圣火），不能让它熄灭。由于其贞洁的个性和神圣不可侵犯的宗教地位，维斯塔贞女被赋予了保管重要人物的遗嘱（比如裘力斯·恺撒的）以及国家文件（例如公共条约）的职责。她们还可以在公共场合不必宣誓就进行做证。在女性地位低下的古罗马，维斯塔贞女的地位（虽然更多是荣誉地位）可以说非常突出。
在我经常提到的突尼斯 El Djem 的月份马赛克镶嵌画中。代表×月的画（图1）描绘的是两名卖饮料的小贩在亭子里为路人提供解渴饮料，提示六月意味着夏天的到来。在圣彼得堡艾尔米塔什博物馆的一幅3世纪马赛克镶嵌画（图2），告诉我们×月意味着物产开始丰富起来。我们可以看到一个漂亮的金色头发的小孩，穿着清凉的 colobium站在厨房里，室内有各种物产：花篮里的花、盘子里的水果以及台子上的海鲜。
今天（4️23日）是古罗马的妓女节！
机翻：4月23日 妓女节。
在古罗马，4月23日是妓女的节庆日。在 "dies meretricum "期间，妓女们（来自mereo：收益）向维纳斯-艾丽奇娜（Venus Ericina）献上祭品，以便她能保持她们的年轻和美丽（奥维德，Fasti IV, 865）。
妓女的职业是由精确的法律规定的，根据李维的说法，一个女人在从事这一职业之前必须在一个由Aediles保管的登记簿上登记，否则将被流放。
这幅画展示了在庞贝的百年之家（现藏于那不勒斯考古博物馆）的立方体中绘制的情色场景。
机翻：4月23日 妓女节。
在古罗马，4月23日是妓女的节庆日。在 "dies meretricum "期间，妓女们（来自mereo：收益）向维纳斯-艾丽奇娜（Venus Ericina）献上祭品，以便她能保持她们的年轻和美丽（奥维德，Fasti IV, 865）。
妓女的职业是由精确的法律规定的，根据李维的说法，一个女人在从事这一职业之前必须在一个由Aediles保管的登记簿上登记，否则将被流放。
这幅画展示了在庞贝的百年之家（现藏于那不勒斯考古博物馆）的立方体中绘制的情色场景。
✋热门推荐