# Februarius
## English
### Etymology

From Latin Februārius.

### Proper noun

Februarius
* (historical) The shortest month of the Ancient Roman calendar, from which the Julian and Gregorian month of February derived.

## Latin
### Alternative forms

* februārius (alternative case form)
* Febrārius (Late Latin, proscribed)

### Etymology

From Februa +‎ -ārius. From februum (“means of purification, an offering”), via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 in the old Roman calendar.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /fe.bruˈaː.ri.us/, [fɛbruˈäːriʊs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /fe.bruˈa.ri.us/, [februˈäːrius]

### Adjective

Februārius (feminine Februāria, neuter Februārium); first/second-declension adjective
* of February

#### Usage notes

In Classical Latin, month names were regularly used as adjectives, generally modifying a case-form of mēnsis m sg (“month”) or of one of the nouns used in the Roman calendar to refer to specific days of the month from which other days were counted: Calendae f pl (“calends”), Nōnae f pl (“nones”), Īdūs f pl (“ides”). However, the masculine noun mēnsis could be omitted by ellipsis, so the masculine singular forms of month names eventually came to be used as proper nouns.
The accusative plural adjective forms Aprīlīs, Septembrīs, Octōbrīs, Novembrīs, Decembrīs are ambiguous in writing, being spelled identically to the genitive singular forms of the nouns; nevertheless, the use of ablative singular forms in -ī and comparison with the usage of other month names as adjectives supports the interpretation of -is as an accusative plural adjective ending in Classical Latin phrases such as "kalendas Septembris".

#### Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

### Proper noun

Februārius m sg (genitive Februāriī or Februārī); second declension
* February (short for mēnsis Februārius)

#### Declension

Second-declension noun, singular only.
| Case | Singular |
| Nominative | Februārius |
| Genitive | Februāriī Februārī$^1$ |
| Dative | Februāriō |
| Accusative | Februārium |
| Ablative | Februāriō |
| Vocative | Februārī |
$^1$Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

#### Descendants

* Late Latin: Febrārius (see there for further descendants)
* Eastern Romance
** Aromanian: flivrar
** Romanian: făurar
* Franco-Provençal: fevriér
* Gallo-Italic
** Ligurian: frevâ
** Lombard: febrar
** Piedmontese: fërvé
* Italo-Dalmatian
** Corsican: ferraghju, farraghju, frivaghju
** Dalmatian: februar
** Italian: febbraio
** Neapolitan: frevaro
** Sicilian: frivaru
* Old French: fevrier
** French: février
*** Haitian Creole: fevriye
*** → Iranian Persian: فوریه (fevriye)
*** → South Azerbaijani: فئوریه (fevriyə)
*** → Tunisian Arabic: فيفري (fīvrī)
** Norman: février, Févri, févryi, févérier, fevri
** Walloon: fevrî
** → Middle English: feoverel
* Old Occitan:
** Catalan: febrer
** Occitan: febrièr, febrier, heurèr
* Rhaeto-Romance
** Friulian: Fevrâr
** Ladin: fauré, firé
** Romansch: favrer, fevrer (Sursilvan)
* Sardinian: fiàrzu, freàrgiu
* Venetian: febraro
** → Cimbrian: febraaro, fevraro (Luserna)
* West Iberian
** Extremaduran: hebreru
** Navarro-Aragonese:
*** Aragonese: febrero
** Old Leonese:
*** Asturian: febreru
*** Mirandese: Febreiro
** Old Galician-Portuguese: fevreyro, frebreyro, febreyro, fevereyro, fevereiro
*** Fala: febreiru, febereiru
*** Galician: febreiro
*** Portuguese: fevereiro (see there for further descendants)
** Old Spanish:
*** Ladino: fevrero
*** Spanish: hebrero; febrero (semi-learned) (see there for further descendants)

##### Borrowings

* → Albanian: fror, fruer
* → Arabic: فبراير (fibrāyir)
* → Dutch: februari
* → German: Februar, Feber (Austria, dated)
** → Estonian: veebruar
** → Kashubian: februar
** → Luxembourgish: Februar
* → Ancient Greek: Φεβρουάριος (Phebrouários) (see there for further descendants)
* → Middle English: Februarie, februari, februare
** English: February (see there for further descendants)
** Scots: Februar
* → Latvian: februāris
* → Old Irish: febra, febrae
** Irish: Feabhra
* → Romanian: februarie
* → Romanian: fevruarie (via some Slavic language)
* → West Frisian: febrewaris
* → Welsh: Chwefror

### See also

* Roman calendar on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### References

* ↑ Karl Gottlob Zumpt (1853) Leonhard Schmitz, Charles Anthon, transl., A Grammar of the Latin Language, 3rd edition, pages 31, 85
* ↑ Gaeng, Paul A. (1968) An Inquiry into Local Variations in Vulgar Latin: As Reflected in the Vocalism of Christian Inscriptions, page 183
* ↑ Frost, P. (1861) The Germania and Agricola of Tacitus, page 161

### Further reading

* “Fĕbrŭārĭus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “Februārius”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* fĕbrŭārĭus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette: “657/3”
* “Februārius” on page 683/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)