I know some contributors have OEDs, so if anybody could look up the etymology of "February" and tell me why it's so F'd up, I'd sure appreciate it. Whoever thought an english-speaker could pronounce this word must have been drinking out of leaden vessels.
17 January 2006
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I have no OED but I got this here Internet that says February was named for the Roman God Februus who is the God of Purification. It may come fronm the Latin "febris" (meaning fever) which is from Proto-Indo-European base *dhegh- (to burn).
Perhaps if you want something more pronounceable, you should try some Anglo-Saxon.
"Historical names for February include the Anglo-Saxon terms Solmoneth (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage)"
Cabbage month, that's easy.
BTW, if you have seen etymologies and the OED, you'll see a lot of those asterisks in the Indo-European derivations. That means the scholars made it up. Cool huh?
Proto-Indo-European base *dhegh- (to burn).
Burninate!!!
Cabbage month, that's easy.
Cabbage month it is.
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