Calendar is a noun and defined as a system for fixing the beginning, length, and divisions of the civil year and arranging days and longer divisions of time in a definite order. First used in the 13th century, calendar is one of the many words in the English language that has its roots in Latin. The word calendar derives from the Latin word kalendārium, which means book in which monthly interest on loans is recorded.
The current calendar used in the United States is the Gregorian calendar. Introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in October 1582, the Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. Both calendars consist of the same 12 months, but vary slightly with how leap years are calculated. The Julian calendar derives from the Roman calendar; however, the Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and a dead period during winter. The original 10 months were Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. It wasn’t until 713 BC when January and February were added to fill in the dead period during winter.
Although the United States follows the Gregorian calendar, there are many other calendars used around the world. These calendars include the Chinese calendar, Hebrew calendar, Buddhist calendar, and Iranian Muslim calendar, just to name a few.
If interested in copy editing or proofreading services email editingbychristina@gmail.com or visit editingbychristina.com.
Sources
“Calendar.” Merriam-Webster
https://www.almanac.com/content/how-did-months-get-their-names
https://blog.britishmuseum.org/whats-in-a-name-months-of-the-year/
Editing by Christina 