Adjacent Words

February definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FEB'RUARY, n. [L. Februarius. The Latin word is said to be named from februo, to purify by sacrifice, and thus to signify the month of purification, as the people were, in this month, purified by sacrifices and oblations. The word februo is said to be a Sabine word, connected with ferveo, ferbeo, to boil, as boiling was used in purifications.
This practice bears a resemblance to that of making atonement among the Jews; but the connection between ferveo and February is doubtful.
The name of the second month in the year, introduced into the Roman calendar by Numa. In common years, this month contains 28 days; in the bissextile or leap year, 29 days.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the month following January and preceding March [syn: February, Feb]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -aries or -arys) Etymology: Middle English Februarie, from Old English Februarius, from Latin, from Februa, plural, feast of purification Date: before 12th century the second month of the Gregorian calendar Usage: Dissimilation may occur when a word contains two identical or closely related sounds, resulting in the change or loss of one of them. This happens regularly in February, which is more often pronounced ?fe-b(y)?-?wer-? than ?fe-br?-?wer-?, though all of these variants are in frequent use and widely accepted. The y heard from many speakers is not an intrusion but rather a common pronunciation of the vowel u after a consonant, as in January and annual.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) the second month of the year. Etymology: ME f. OF feverier ult. f. L februarius f. februa a purification feast held in this month

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

February Feb"ru*a*ry, n. [L. Februarius, orig., the month of expiation, because on the fifteenth of this month the great feast of expiation and purification was held, fr. februa, pl., the Roman festival or purification; akin to februare to purify, expiate.] The second month in the year, said to have been introduced into the Roman calendar by Numa. In common years this month contains twenty-eight days; in the bissextile, or leap year, it has twenty-nine days.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(Februaries) February is the second month of the year in the Western calendar. He joined the Army in February 1943... His exhibition opens on 5 February... Last February the tribunal agreed he had been the victim of racial discrimination. N-VAR