anniversary

Where does the word "anniversary" come from? It comes from Latin anniversarius, passing through Medieval Latin before entering English (1200s).

Anniversary’s story begins in Latin: anniversarius meant “yearly.” 'returning yearly', from annus 'year' + vertere 'to turn'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Medieval Latin as anniversarium. A yearly Mass for a dead person on the day of death, which the rich paid for in their wills. It reached English by 1200s as anniversary. Widened to any yearly commemoration; the custom of 'silver' and 'golden' wedding anniversaries is recorded from the 1800s. Today, anniversary means the date on which an event took place in a previous year.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical anniversarius "yearly", 'returning yearly', from annus 'year' + vertere 'to turn'.
2. Stage 2 · Medieval Latin · medieval anniversarium "yearly memorial Mass", a yearly Mass for a dead person on the day of death, which the rich paid for in their wills.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s anniversary "yearly commemoration", widened to any yearly commemoration; the custom of 'silver' and 'golden' wedding anniversaries is recorded from the 1800s.