English
February
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi/, /ˈfɛb.j(ʊ.)ə.ɹi/, /ˈfɛb.ɹə.ɹi/, /ˈfɛb.ɹi/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈfɛb.ɹuˌɛɹi/, /ˈfɛb.juˌɛ(ə)ɹi/; enPR fĕbʹro͞o-ĕr'-ē
Proper noun
  1. The short month following January and preceding March in the Roman, Julian, and Gregorian calendars, used in all three calendars for intercalation or addition of leap days.
    • 2011, Robert A. Kaster trans. Macrobius, Saturnalia, Book I, Chapter xiii, Sections 3–5:
      ...The second he [sc. King Numa] dedicated to the god Februus, who is believed to control rites of purification: the community had to be purified in that month, when he determined that the Good Gods be paid the offerings due them... Numa soon added one day to January, paying honor to the mystery of the odd number that nature revealed even before Pythagoras: as a result, both the year as a whole and the individual months (save February) had an odd number of days. (If all twelve months had either an odd or even number of days, their total would be an even number...)
    • 2011, Robert A. Kaster trans. Macrobius, Saturnalia, Book I, Chapter xiii, Sections 14–15:
      February was set aside for the intercalation because it was the last month of the year... They departed from the Greeks in one respect, however: whereas the latter intercalated when the final month was over, the Romans intercalated after the twenty-third day of February, at the conclusion of the Terminalia. They then added on the last five days of February after the intercalary period, acting on the religious scruple of ancient custom, I think, so that March would follow on February no matter what.
    • 2011, Robert A. Kaster trans. Macrobius, Saturnalia, Book I, Chapter xiv, Sections 6–7:
      Julius Caesar, then, added ten days to the old practice, so that the 365 days in which the sun circles the zodiac would make a year; and to account for the one-quarter day, he ordained that the priests who attended to the months and days would insert one day every fourth year, in the same month and place where the ancients used to intercalate a month, that is, before the last five days of February, and he decreed that it be called the 'twice sixth'... he added no days to February, so that the religious observances offered to the gods of the dead would not be changed...
    Susan was born on February 29.
  2. (rare) A female given name.
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