February

Feb·ru·ar·y

F0064200 (fĕb′ro͞o-ĕr′ē, fĕb′yo͞o-)n. pl. Feb·ru·ar·ies The second month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. See Table at calendar.

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[Middle English Februarie, from Latin Februārius (mēnsis), (month) of purification, from februa, expiatory offerings, possibly of Sabine origin.]Usage Note: The preferred pronunciation among usage writers is (fĕb′ro͞o-ĕr′ē), but in actual usage the pronunciation (fĕb′yo͞o-ĕr′ē) is far more common and so cannot be considered incorrect. The loss of the first r in this pronunciation can be accounted for by the phonological process known as dissimilation, whereby one of two similar or identical sounds in a word is changed or dropped so that a repetition of that sound is avoided. In the case of February, the loss of the first r was also helped along by the influence of January, which has only one r.

February

(ˈfɛbrʊərɪ) n, pl -ariesthe second month of the year, consisting of 28 or (in a leap year) 29 days[C13: from Latin Februārius mēnsis month of expiation, from februa Roman festival of purification held on February 15, from plural of februum a purgation]

Feb•ru•ar•y

(ˈfɛb ruˌɛr i, ˈfɛb yu-)

n., pl. -ar•ies, -ar•ys. the second month of the year, ordinarily containing 28 days, but containing 29 days in leap years. Abbr.: Feb. [before 1000; Middle English; Old English Februarius < Latin Februārius] pron: The second pronunciation shown above, with the first (r) replaced by (y), results both from dissimilation, the tendency of like sounds to become unlike when they follow each other closely, and from analogy with January. Although sometimes criticized, this dissimilated pronunciation of february is used by educated speakers and both (ˈfɛb ruˌɛr i) and (ˈfɛb yuˌɛr i) are considered standard.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

February - the month following January and preceding MarchFebbissextile day, February 29, leap day - the name of the day that is added during a leap yearGregorian calendar, New Style calendar - the solar calendar now in general use, introduced by Gregory XIII in 1582 to correct an error in the Julian calendar by suppressing 10 days, making Oct 5 be called Oct 15, and providing that only centenary years divisible by 400 should be leap years; it was adopted by Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752Candlemas, Candlemas Day, Feb 2 - feast day commemorating the presentation of Christ in the temple; a quarter day in ScotlandFebruary 2, Groundhog Day - if the ground hog emerges and sees his shadow on this day, there will be 6 more weeks of winterFebruary 12, Lincoln's Birthday - the day on which President Abraham Lincoln is rememberedFebruary 14, Saint Valentine's Day, St Valentine's Day, Valentine Day, Valentine's Day - a day for the exchange of tokens of affectionFebruary 22, Washington's Birthday - the day on which George Washington is rememberedPresidents' Day - the third Monday in February; commemorates both presidents Lincoln and WashingtonGregorian calendar month - a month in the Gregorian calendarmid-February - the middle part of February

Translations

二月

February

(ˈfebruəri) noun the second month of the year, the month following January. 二月 二月

February

→ 二月zhCN