Word of the Day, June 03: ‘Calendar’

Word of the Day: CALENDAR

Pronunciation: UK /ˈkæl.ən.dər/ or US /ˈkæl.ən.dɚ/

Meaning

A calendar is a system used to organize days, months, and years for keeping track of time, events, festivals, seasons, and important activities.

Examples for daily usage

• Our school calendar includes holidays, exams, and cultural events.
• I added the meeting to my Google Calendar so I wouldn’t forget it.

Origin and history

The word "calendar" traces back to the Latin word "calendarium," which originally meant an "account book" or "interest register."

This Latin word, in turn, derives from kalendae (or calendae), which refers to the first day of the month in the Roman calendar.

Prehistoric societies aligned structures (such as Stonehenge) to solar and lunar cycles. The earliest known lunar calendar, dating back to 8000 BC, was found in Warren Field, Scotland.

Early Roman calendars were lunar and sometimes manipulated by priests for political leverage. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar introduced the solar Julian calendar. It featured 365 days and a leap year but miscalculated the exact solar year by roughly 11 minutes.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII instituted the updated Gregorian calendar due to the Julian calendar's centuries-long drift. This is the standard civil calendar used internationally today.

Interesting facts

• The Gregorian calendar has 365 days in a normal year and 366 days in a leap year.
• The names of months like January and March come from Roman gods and rulers.
• Some ancient calendars were based entirely on the Moon.
• The world currently uses several calendar systems simultaneously for cultural and religious purposes.

Examples from literature

1. Thus, she distributed behind her, rotating through the room, a record of her meals, a calendar in rinds and cores.- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson
2. Malia was happy at her University of Chicago Laboratory School, making friends and loading up her own little calendar with birthday parties and swim classes on weekends.- Becoming by Michelle Obama
3. Their method was a much simpler way of keeping track of the passage of the days, producing a calendar that stayed in sync with the seasons for many years.- Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife
4. I must figure out a way to open Willa’s calendar diary. -The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Synonyms:

• Schedule
• Agenda
• Timetable
• Docket

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