12個(gè)月份的英文來歷（雙語(yǔ)）

在以往新概念三冊(cè)的教學(xué)過程中，每每講到octopus一詞時(shí)，總不忘提一嘴其詞根octo-表示“8”的含義，每次也都有好奇的聲音會(huì)問：同樣是octo-，為什么October就是“十月”，而非“八月”呢。借此機(jī)會(huì)，給感興趣的童鞋們科普下1-12月英語(yǔ)單詞的來歷。

古羅馬原來只有10個(gè)月，古羅馬皇帝決定增加兩個(gè)月放在年尾。后來凱撒大帝把這兩個(gè)月移到年初(也是愛折騰)，成為1月和2月，而原來的1月和2月就成了3月和4月。以此類推。這就是今天世界沿用的公歷。

January---一月

來源于古羅馬門神杰納斯Janus。該神生兩張臉，一張回顧過去，一張?zhí)魍磥?。人們選擇他的名字作為除舊迎新的第一個(gè)月月名。

Januarywas named after the goal Janus. Janus was a strange god with two faces thatcould look in two directions. He could look forward and back at the same time, sohe was the god of beginnings and endings. January, the first month of the year,is a time at which one looks forward to the New Year and back to the old year.

February——二月

每年2月初，羅馬人民都要?dú)⑸嬀疲瑲g慶Februarius菲勃盧姆節(jié)。這一天，人們常用一種名叫Februa的鞭子抽打不育的婦女，以求懷孕生子。這一天人們要懺悔自己過去一年的罪過，洗刷自己的靈魂，求得神明的饒恕，使自己成為一個(gè)貞潔的人。

The nameFebruary comes from a Roman celebration called Februarius and Februa is a kindof whip used on that occasion to 'punish' those females who are supposed to beinfertile. Toward the end of February, after the long winter months, peoplebegin to think of spring cleaning. This probably was the origin of the name ofthe month.

March——三月

按照傳統(tǒng)習(xí)慣，3月是古羅馬每年出征遠(yuǎn)戰(zhàn)的季節(jié)。為了紀(jì)念戰(zhàn)神瑪爾斯Mars，人們便把這位戰(zhàn)神的拉丁名字作為3月的月名。據(jù)傳瑪爾斯是一位強(qiáng)壯的神，羅馬人把它與雷鳴電閃聯(lián)系在一起，因此瑪爾斯的像頭部總是被畫上閃電。

The thirdmonth, March, was named after the Roman god of war, Mars. Mars was a stronggod, and the Roman people always connected him with thunder and lightning. Picturesof Mars always show him with lightning above his head.

April——四月

羅馬的4月，正是大地回春，鮮花初綻的美好季節(jié)。英文4月April便是由拉丁文aperire(開放，開花)演變而來。

The exactorigin of the word April is not known. The word probably comes from the Latinword aperire, meaning "to open". In the month of April, the skiesopen and give us rain. The rain aids in the opening of life among trees, grass,and flowers.

May——五月

羅馬神話中的女神瑪雅Maia，專門司管春天和生命。羅馬人用她的名字命名5月。

May wasnamed after the young and beautiful goddess of the fields, Maia. Maia was themother of the god Mercury.

June——六月

主神朱庇特Jupiter的妻子朱諾Juno，司婚姻、生育和婦女之神，相當(dāng)于希臘神話中的赫拉。古羅馬人對(duì)她十分崇敬，便把6月奉獻(xiàn)給她。英語(yǔ)6月June便由這位女神的名字演變而來。

Anotherbeautiful goddess, Juno, the wife of Jupiter, give us the name of the month ofJune.

July——七月

古羅馬凱撒大帝CaesarJulius遇刺身亡，元老院用凱撒的名字Julius命名凱撒大帝誕生的7月。英語(yǔ)7月July由拉丁語(yǔ)Julius演變而來。

Theseventh month of the year, July, was named after Julius Caesar. Caesar was afamous general who became dictator of Rome. He himself was born in July, theseventh month of the new calendar.

August——八月

凱撒大帝繼任者屋大維為了和凱撒齊名，也想用自己的名字來命名一個(gè)月份。他的生日在9月，但他選定8月。因?yàn)樗腔?，羅馬元老院在8月授予他奧古斯都Augustus(至高無上)的尊號(hào)。于是，他用這個(gè)尊號(hào)來命名8月。原來8月只有30天，為了和凱撒平起平坐，他又決定從2月中抽出一天加在8月上。從此，7/8兩月都是大月，而2月的日子變少了。英語(yǔ)8月August由這位皇帝的拉丁語(yǔ)尊號(hào)Augustus演變而來。

AfterJulius Caesar, his grandnephew Augustus became the ruler of Rome. Augustus'real name was Octavian, but when he became emperor, the people wished to pleasehim. They gave him the title of Augustus, meaning "noble", and theynamed the eighth month, August, after him.

九月——十二月

September、October、November以及December在我們今天的日歷里是一年的第九、第十、第十一和第十二個(gè)月，但是在凱撒以前的古歷法中，它們是一年的第七、第八、第九、和第十個(gè)月。它們的名字分別源自拉丁文的Septem“7”，Octo“8”，Novem“9”以及Decem“10”。

Themonths of September, October, November, and December need little explanation Inour calendar today, they are the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months. Butin the old calendar before Julius Caesar, they were the seventh, eighth, ninth,and tenth months. Their names therefore came from the Latin words for seventh, eighth,ninth, and tenth.

這里還有兩個(gè)比較有意思的插曲。說是羅馬皇帝凱撒和奧古斯都都有了自己名字命名的月份，羅馬市民和元老院就要求當(dāng)時(shí)的羅馬皇帝梯比里烏斯用其名命名11月，但皇帝沒有同意，他明智的對(duì)大家說，如果羅馬每個(gè)皇帝都用自己的名字來命名月份，那么出現(xiàn)了第13個(gè)皇帝怎么辦?于是，11月仍然保持了舊稱。而公元二世紀(jì)末羅馬皇帝康茂德Commodus想要把一年中最后一個(gè)月用他的情婦的名字來命名，但遭到元老院的反對(duì)。因此12月也仍舊沿用舊名。