Etymology Map
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Month

3 stages from Proto-Germanic to English.

Today it means each of the twelve named periods into which a year is divided

Where does the word "month" come from? It comes from Proto-Germanic *mēnōþs, passing through Old English before entering English (1200s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
*mēnōþs
Proto-Germanic · prehistoric
"month, moon"
from the same root as 'moon', since months were measured from one new moon to the next
2
Stage 2 of 3
mōnaþ
Old English · 725
"month"
Bede's The Reckoning of Time (725) explains that the English 'anciently reckoned their months according to the course of the moon'
3
Stage 3 of 3
month
English · 1200s
"calendar month"
the calendar months of unequal length came from Julius Caesar's reform of 45 BC
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Read the full story

Month’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: *mēnōþs meant “month, moon.” From the same root as 'moon', since months were measured from one new moon to the next. By 725, the word had taken hold in Old English as mōnaþ. Bede's The Reckoning of Time (725) explains that the English 'anciently reckoned their months according to the course of the moon'. It reached English by 1200s as month. The calendar months of unequal length came from Julius Caesar's reform of 45 BC. Today, month means each of the twelve named periods into which a year is divided.