Name of months in your language

[Dowly]

Where do the name of months in your native language come from?

Finland:

("kuu" means moon)


Starting from January.

Tammikuu:

Today, "tammi" means oak, but originally it had other meanings such as axel or the heart of a tree. In the month's name it means the center of the winter time.

Helmikuu:

The word "helmi" means pearl, in this case it means the ice pearls that form on tree branches when it has been warmer and the water droplets have then frozen again.

Maaliskuu:

This one is not quite clear, but often it is said that the name comes from the fact that especially in southern Finland, you might start to see some ground from beneath the melting snow. "Maa" = ground/Earth

Huhtikuu:

Comes from "huhtakaski", a farming technique of letting trees of a forest dry for several years before burning them to make fertile farming land. It was usually done at this time of year.

Toukokuu:

Simply comes from the word "touko" which means preparatory farming work done in the spring.

Kesäkuu:

Comes from "kesanto", meaning the first plough of the summer.

Heinäkuu:

"Heinä" = hay, first reaping of hay.

Elokuu:

"Elo" means harvest in this instance, but can also mean "livelihood".

Syyskuu:

"Syys" simply comes from "syksy" meaning autumn.

Lokakuu:

"Loka" means mud, usually the time when there's more rain.

Marraskuu:

"Marras" used to mean death, as in 'the ground is dead'. If someone at this time of year caught a big catch fishing, some might say he got a "Marrassaalis", a death's catch. The word "marras" is thought to be over 2,000 years old.

Joulukuu:

Originally this month was called "talvikuu" (Wintermonth), but in 1600s it was changed to Joulukuu. The word "Joulu" is a loan word from Swedish word "jul", meaning a feast/celebration*.

*Correct me on this one fellow, but slightly inferior than us mighty Finns, Swedes.

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Kesäkuu:

Comes from "kesanto", meaning the first plough of the summer.

In modern Finnish word "kesä" itself means summer. However the origin of month's name is as Dowly wrote

[Sailor Steve]

Pretty cool stuff!

[Catfish]

The finnish calendar is very much like the initial germanic calendar, which related to harvest and climate.

All the germanic months' names have now changed due to roman influence.

[Eichhörnchen]

That's very poetic, Dowdly... our months in English are, I guess, Roman-influenced same as Catfish's

[mapuc]

Januar:
January is named after Janus, Roman god. Older Danish name window month. In Denmark, January became the first month of the year from the beginning of the 1300s.

Februar:
The month is named after Februus, Etruscan god of the underworld and of
purification.

Marts:
March's month is named after Mars, Roman war god. The older Danish name is Thor months or tordmåned, which may refer to the god Thor or word tord which means fertilizer, since March is the month when the snow melts and the fields are dry, so that can be run manure.

April:
April, month with name from Latin (Mensis) Aprilis, second month after Roman calendar, of uncertain origin. Perhaps of Apru, an Etruscan lord of Greek Aphrodite. Or maybe * ap (e) rilis (= the following, the next) from the Indo-European root * apo- (= gone, gone), with suffix -ilis, which specified the name of months. Old English name Eastermon after a fertility goddess who also gave his name for Easter (Easter).

Maj:
May month is named after Maja, Merkur's mother. Older Danish name
May month.

Juni:
June is the sixth month of the year. It is named after Jupiter's wife, Juno. She was the goddess of marriage. She was also called the queen of heaven and earth. Older Danish name: Midsummer.

Juli:
July is the seventh month of the year. It is named after Julius Caesar. Older Danish name: Orme Month.

August:
August is named after Augustus, Roman emperor. Older Danish name is Harvest Month.

September:
September is the ninth month of the year. The older Danish name for the month was a fishing month.
The month is named after the Latin word septem (meaning "seven"), as September was the seventh month in the Roman calendar.

Oktober:
October is named after octo (as March was the first month of the year), Latin for eight. Older Danish name: Seed month.

November:
November is named after novem, latin for "9" (as March was the first month of the year). Older Danish name is slaughter month.

December:
December month is named after decem, Latin for "10" (as March was the first month of the year in the Roman calendar). Older Danish name Christian Month.

Markus

[Von Due]

January to December:
Kaldt (Cold)
Nok Nå (That's Enough)
Endelig (Finally)
Kom Igjen (C'mon!)
Lunkent (Luke Warm)
Var Det Alt?!?! (That Was It?!?!)
Skuffa (Disappointed)
Jaja (Oh Well)
Narresommer (Fake Summer)
Slemt (Nasty)
Slemmere (Nastier)
Helvete Heller (Bloody Hell)

Alternative names are really nothing that would be unfamiliar to English speaking folks but these alternative names are used only by people in denial.

[Eichhörnchen]

[vienna]

Deleted

[vienna]

I once made an effort to learn some Japanese language and found the months are named merely as a numerical order, with an ordinal number followed by the Japanese character for "moon", so it was Jan = Ichigatsu (1st Moon), Feb = "Nigatsu" (2nd Moon), etc. Later, I found out there were older, traditional names for the months used before the 'modernization' of the calendar:

(From Wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_calendar#Months


There are some poetically evocative images in those old names...







<O>

[Rhodes]

Janeiro, Fevereiro, Março, Abril, Maio, Junho, Julho, Agosto, Setembro, Outubro Novembro, Dezembro.

Mapuc explained the names, pretty similar; Maio (May), here comes from Maya, Hermes mother or is derivative from the name of the roman goddess Bona Dea.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Januar:
January is named after Janus, Roman god. Older Danish name window month. In Denmark, January became the first month of the year from the beginning of the 1300s.

Februar:
The month is named after Februus, Etruscan god of the underworld and of
purification.

Marts:
March's month is named after Mars, Roman war god. The older Danish name is Thor months or tordmåned, which may refer to the god Thor or word tord which means fertilizer, since March is the month when the snow melts and the fields are dry, so that can be run manure.

April:
April, month with name from Latin (Mensis) Aprilis, second month after Roman calendar, of uncertain origin. Perhaps of Apru, an Etruscan lord of Greek Aphrodite. Or maybe * ap (e) rilis (= the following, the next) from the Indo-European root * apo- (= gone, gone), with suffix -ilis, which specified the name of months. Old English name Eastermon after a fertility goddess who also gave his name for Easter (Easter).

Maj:
May month is named after Maja, Merkur's mother. Older Danish name
May month.

Juni:
June is the sixth month of the year. It is named after Jupiter's wife, Juno. She was the goddess of marriage. She was also called the queen of heaven and earth. Older Danish name: Midsummer.

Juli:
July is the seventh month of the year. It is named after Julius Caesar. Older Danish name: Orme Month.

August:
August is named after Augustus, Roman emperor. Older Danish name is Harvest Month.

September:
September is the ninth month of the year. The older Danish name for the month was a fishing month.
The month is named after the Latin word septem (meaning "seven"), as September was the seventh month in the Roman calendar.

Oktober:
October is named after octo (as March was the first month of the year), Latin for eight. Older Danish name: Seed month.

November:
November is named after novem, latin for "9" (as March was the first month of the year). Older Danish name is slaughter month.

December:
December month is named after decem, Latin for "10" (as March was the first month of the year in the Roman calendar). Older Danish name Christian Month.

Markus

Thank you, that is exactly what I was l looking for.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by vienna

There are some poetically evocative images in those old names...

Very!

[ikalugin]

Ours are boring:
Январь
Февраль
Март
Апрель
Май
Июнь
Июль
Август
Сентябрь
Октябрь
Ноябрь
Декабрь