最早的西方日历中，竟然没有一月份……

月

日

周

三

一年有12个月，没有人不知道吧？但为什么英语不用数字1-12来表达月份，而是给每个月份都取一个独特的名称，害得有些人怎么背也背不下来呢？

这就不得不提到古罗马人……

英文的月份名称源自古罗马历法，有些按数字顺序排列，有些用神或皇帝命名。比如，“十月”October的拉丁语词根“octo”的意思其实是“八”！八爪章鱼octopus也是这个词根。

活了这么大才知道十月其实和“八”有关！

那为何月份跟实际数字会错位呢？

因为一开始，古罗马人规定全年为304天，划分为10个月，以春分为一年的开始。在起完十个月的名称后，还有61天空出来。第二任的皇帝觉得这样有些不妥，就增加了一月和二月。其他的月份就依次后推，也更改了名称。

January·一月

January is named after the Roman god Janus, who presided over doors and beginnings – appropriately enough, for the beginning of the year. Indeed, Janus was usually depicted with two faces looking backwards and forwards, as is often characteristic of a new year.

在罗马神话中有一位名叫雅努斯(Janus)的守护神，负责掌管所有的出入门户，象征着开始（准确地说是一年的开始）。事实上，雅努斯有两副面孔，可以同时看向前后，一副回顾过去，一副眺望未来，所以人们选择他的名字作为除旧迎新的第一个月月名。

February·二月

February由拉丁文februarius演变而来，源于februa。Februa是当月第15天举行的一种宗教节日的名称。

February is ultimately based on Latin februarius, from februa. Februa was the name of a purification feast held on the 15th of this month.

March·三月

Which god gets a planet and a month named after him? You’ve guessed it: Mars. Why him? In ancient Rome several festivals of Mars took place in March, presumably in preparation for the campaigning season, since Mars was a god of war.

这个月份的月名又是由哪位神灵的名字演变而来的？你们可能猜到了：战神玛尔斯(Mars)。在古罗马，3月是每年出征远战的季节，为了纪念战神，人们便把他的名字作为3月的月名。

April·四月

We know that the English word April comes from the Latin Aprillis, the fourth month of the ancient Roman calendar.

四月的由来是从拉丁文Aprillis演变来的，是罗马旧历法的第四个月。

May·五月

希腊神话中的女神迈亚(Maia)，是泰坦神阿特拉斯(Atlas) 的女儿，大神赫尔墨斯（Hermes）的母亲。专门执掌繁殖和生长的女神，在这春意盎然的季节，用她的名字来命名再合适不过。

The month is connected with the goddess Maia. Perhaps less well known now than the other deities with months named after them, Maia (in Greek mythology) was daughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes. She was considered a nurturer and an earth goddess, which may explain the connection with this springtime month.

June·六月

刚才介绍的是一位希腊女神，而六月则是根据罗马神话里神后朱诺（Juno）的名字演变而来的，朱诺是神王朱庇特（Jupiter）之妻，司管婚姻和生育的女神。

Having conceded one month to a Greek deity, we’re now back with the Romans: June is named after the ancient Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and goddess of marriage and childbirth.

July·七月

The first month in the calendar named after a real person, July was named in honour of Julius Caesar after his death in 44 BC, July being the month of his birth. Before it was renamed, the month was known as Quintilis (borrowed into English as Quintile), which means "fifth".

这是第一个以真人名字命名的月份，罗马统治者朱里斯·凯撒（Julius Caesar）大帝被刺死后，著名的罗马将军马克·安东尼建议将凯撒大帝诞生的7月，用凯撒的名字——拉丁文Julius命名之。在重新命名之前，7月被称为Quintilis，在英语里就是Quintile，意为第五。(就是开头双语君提到的最早的罗马月份历法）

August·八月

Following suit, in 8 BC, the month Sextilis (sixth) was renamed after Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Augustus himself was given this title when he became emperor, having previously been known as Octavian. It came from the Latin augustus meaning "consecrated, venerable".

如今八月的英文名字是根据古罗马帝国开国皇帝奥古斯都（Augustus）的名字命名的，在改名前称为Sextilis，意为“第六”。奥古斯都，原名屋大维（Octavian），他登基后获得了“奥古斯都Augustus”的尊号，取自拉丁文augustus，意为神圣、至尊的意思。

September·九月

September源自拉丁文septem，就是“七”的意思。千万别晕，双语君前面说了，原来古罗马人只把一年分为十个月，March是第一月，而September正好就是第七月。

October·十月

More of the same: octo is the Latin for ‘eight’, for that ten month calendar. Two months were added to the end of the calendar year around 713 BC, and the beginning of the year was moved to 1 January in 153 BC.

和上面说到的九月一样，英语中的十月，来自拉丁文octo，即“八”的意思，也是根据老历法来的。公元前713年，历法被修改，增加了两个月放在年尾，而到了公元前153年，才以1月1日作为新一年的开始。

November·十一月