1、英語中十二個月份詞源的來歷你了解12個月份的來歷嗎？先小小地透露一下： 它們的來歷和神、統治者以及數字有關。January 一月 January is named after the Roman god Janus, who presided over doors and the beginning of the year (though this is, as you will discover, not as straightforward as it seems). Indeed, Janus was usually depicted with two faces looking bac

2、kwards and forwards, as is often characteristic of a new year; this also gave rise to the term Janus word for words that have two opposite meanings. 月是以羅馬看守門戶的Janus命名的，他負責守門以及新一年的開端，盡管這樣，你會發現它 似乎不止有一面。事實上，Janus常常以兩張望向相反方向的面孔示人，這也是新的一年所具備的特點：既要回顧過去，又要展望未來。這樣的形象又賦予了 “Janus”具有相反含義的特性。February 二月 Februa

3、ry is ultimatelybased on Latin februarius, from februa. In case that s not helped things become clearer, februa was the name of a purificationfeast held on the 15th of this month. February is a divisive issue in modern pronunciation, with both Feb-yoo-ary and Feb-roo-ary being commonly heard.二月形成于拉丁

4、 語“februarius”中的“februa”。考慮到大家可能還沒有明白它的意思，這邊再補充說明一下：“februa”是2月15日舉行的一個凈化盛宴的名字。現代人對February的發音持有不一樣的見解，主要有兩種讀法，第一種是Feb-yoo-ary,第二種是 Feb-roo-ary。 March 三月 Which god gets a planet and a month named after him? You ve guessed it: Mars. Why him? As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, In ancient Rome sev

5、eral festivals of Mars took place in March, presumablyin preparation for the campaigning season, since Mars was a god of war.哪位神靈擁有一個星球并有一個月份以它命名？你也許猜是“Mars”。為什么是他呢？牛津英語（精品課）詞典里標注道：在古羅馬，幾個和火星有關的 節日都發生在三月，也許這些節日都和準備戰爭的活動有關，因為Mars是一位戰神。April 四月 We knowthat the English word April comes from the Latin A

6、prillis, the fourth month of the ancient Roman calendar, but things are less clear after that. In Old English, April was also sometimes called Eastermonab, Easter month.我們都知道英語單詞“April ”來源于拉丁語“ Aprillis ”，在古羅馬的日歷上，這 是第四個月，但之后的一些事情我們就不大知曉了。在古英 語里“April ”有時也被稱為“ Eastermonab”，意為：“復活月”。 May 五月 The month

7、 is connected with the goddess Maia. Perhaps less well known now than the otherdeitieswithmonths named after them, Maia （in Greek mythology） was daughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes. She was considered a nurturer and an earth goddess, which may explain the connection with this springtime month. Al

8、though may is a common modal verb, the month and the word are unrelated. 五月和神靈 Maia （瑪雅）有關。瑪雅也許沒有其他神靈為人 們所熟知，在希臘神話中瑪雅是Atlas （阿特拉斯）之女和Hermes （愛馬仕）之母。她被認為是一位養育者和一位地球 女神，這也解釋了 May和春季月份的關系。may是一個情態 動詞，但是月份的“ May”和情態動詞的“ may”是不相關 的。 June 六月 Having conceded one month to a Greek deity, we re now back with

9、the Romans: June is named after the ancient Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and goddess of marriage and childbirth. June was also once sometimes known as midsummer month.介紹了位希臘神靈，現在我們繼續講講羅馬的神靈。“June”是以古羅馬神靈“Juno”命名的。朱諾是 Jupiter （丘比特）之妻，掌管著 婚姻和生育分娩的事務。六月一度被認為是仲夏月。July七月 The first month in the cal

10、endar named after a real person, July was named in honour of Julius Caesar after his death in 44 BC, July being the month of his birth. Before it was renamed, the month was known as Quintilis （borrowed intoEnglish as Quintile）, which means fifth . If you ve beercounting, you ll know that July isn t

11、the fifth month: weon to that when we reach September and October.這是第一個以人名命名的月份，“July”的命名是為了紀念 Julius Caesar（裘里斯凱撒），他于公元前44年去世，七月正好是他由生的月份。在這個月份更名之前，它叫做“ Quintilis”，英語中 即為“Quintile”，意為“第五”。如果你會數數的話，你會發 現，“July”并不是第五個月份。關于這個問題，等我們提到“September”和October的時候再解釋。August 八月 Following suit, in 8 BC, the mont

12、h Sextilis （sixth ） wasrenamed after Augustus, the first Roman emperor, who had diedsix years earlier. Augustus himself was given this title when he became emperor, having previously been known as Octavian. It came from the Latin augustus meaning consecrated, venerable which gave rise to the English

13、 adjective august, respected and impressive. 同樣地，在公元前 8 世紀，Sextilis （sixth）這個月更名了，以羅馬第一位帝王 Augustus（奧古斯都）命名。他于公元前8世紀前六年去世。奧古斯都在他成為帝王的那一天起也更名為“August,之前他叫做“Octavian”（屋大維）。這個詞來源于拉丁語“ augustus”，意為“神圣的，值得尊敬的 這也就賦予了英譯詞匯“august”（這里作為形容詞）“值得尊敬的”的意思。September 九月 September follows on from Quinitlis and Sexti

14、lis, in that it comes from the Latin septem, seven. As with those (and the rest of the calendar), the numbering is a bit off now: September was originally the seventh month in an ancient Roman ten-month calendar, which started with March.“September” 之所以在 “ Quinitlis ” 和 “ Sextilis ” 之后，因 為它來源于拉丁語“se

15、ptem，這里是第七的意思。這樣的話， 算上日歷本里剩下的月份，我們現在有點混亂了。“September”起初在古羅馬10個月的日歷中是排第七個的， 那個10個月的日歷中，第一個月份是“March。 October 十月 More of the same: octo is the Latin for eight , for that ten month calendar. Two months were added to the end of the calendar year around 713 BC, and the beginning of the year was moved to

16、1 January in 153 BC.同樣地，“octo” 在拉丁語中是“ eight(八)的意思，因為那個10個月的日歷。大約在公元前713年的時候，日歷的最后加上了兩個月，在 公元前153年的時候，一年的開始從一月份計算了。November 十一月 The pattern continues: November comes from novem, nine . November is also, we re afraid, used with allusionto November s position at the end of the year, and to the charact

17、eristic greyness, gloominess, etc., associated with it in the northern hemisphere . The earliestknown example of this allusive use comes from Jane Austen sposthumously published novel Persuasion. 同上： “November”來自“novem”，在古羅馬日歷中位于第9個月。我們覺得“ November”同樣也暗指它處在年末，具有灰暗， 晦暗的意思，通常和北半球有關。這個暗指性地用法最早由 現在簡奧斯汀死后曲版的小說說服。 December 十 二月 And we finish off the year with December, from decem, ten. The month also comes with a brace of adjectives: Decemberish a