Where does “February” come from?

February derives from Latin februarius, formed from Latin Februarius with the suffix -arius, itself from Proto-Indo-European -yós, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European dʰegʷʰ-.

February (English): The short month following January and preceding March in the Roman, Julian, and Gregorian calendars, used in all three calendars for intercalation or addition of leap days

Definitions

  1. The short month following January and preceding March in the Roman, Julian, and Gregorian calendars, used in all three calendars for intercalation or addition of leap days

Ancestry of “February”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishFebruarie—
2LatinFebruāriusof February
3LatinFēbruaa festival of purification, celebrated on February 15th
4Latinfebrisfever
5Proto-Italic*feɣʷrisfever
6Proto-Indo-Europeandʰegʷʰris—
7Proto-Indo-Europeandʰegʷʰ-to burn; warm, hot

Words derived from “February”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰegʷʰ- →