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Origin and history of month

month(n.)

"one-twelfth part of a year; one of the twelve parts into which the calendar year is arbitrarily divided," Old English monað, from Proto-Germanic *menoth- (source also of Old Saxon manoth, Old Frisian monath, Middle Dutch manet, Dutch maand, Old High German manod, German Monat, Old Norse manaðr, Gothic menoþs "month"), which is related to *menon- "moon" (see moon (n.)). Originally the month was the interval between one new moon and the next (a sense attested from late Old English).

Its cognates mean only "month" in the Romance languages, but in Germanic they generally continue to do double duty. The development of the calendrical meaning for words from this root in Greek (mēn) and Latin (mensis) was accompanied by the creation of new words for "moon" (selēnē, luna).

The colloquial phrase a month of Sundays "a very long time" is from 1829 in British parliamentary debate (roughly 7 and a half months, but never used literally).

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moon(n.)

"heavenly body which revolves about the earth monthly," Middle English mone, from Old English mona, from Proto-Germanic *menon- (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German mano, Old Frisian mona, Old Norse mani, Danish maane, Dutch maan, German Mond, Gothic mena "moon"), from PIE *me(n)ses- "moon, month" (source also of Sanskrit masah "moon, month;" Avestan ma, Persian mah, Armenian mis "month;" Greek mene "moon," men "month;" Latin mensis "month;" Old Church Slavonic meseci, Lithuanian mėnesis "moon, month;" Old Irish mi, Welsh mis, Breton miz "month"), from root *me- (2) "to measure" in reference to the moon's phases as an ancient and universal measure of time.

A masculine noun in Old English. In Greek, Italic, Celtic, and Armenian the cognate words now mean only "month." Greek selēnē (Lesbian selanna) is from selas "light, brightness (of heavenly bodies)." Old Norse also had tungl "moon" ("replacing mani in prose" - Buck), evidently an older Germanic word for "heavenly body," cognate with Gothic tuggl, Old English tungol "heavenly body, constellation," of unknown origin or connection. Hence also Old Norse tunglfylling "lunation," tunglœrr "lunatic" (adj.).

Moon was extended 1665 to satellites of other planets. As typical of a place impossible to reach or a thing impossible to obtain, by 1590s. The meaning "a month, the period of the revolution of the moon about the earth" is from late 14c.

The moon race and the U.S. space program of the 1960s inspired coinages, including, from those skeptical of the benefits to be gained, moondoggle (based on boondoggle).

The man in the moon "fancied semblance of a man seen in the disk of the full moon" is mentioned since early 14c.; he carries a bundle of thorn-twigs and is accompanied by a dog. Some Japanese, however, see a rice-cake-making rabbit in the moon. The old moon in the new moon's arms (1727) is the appearance of the moon in the first quarter, in which the whole orb is faintly visible by earthshine.

monthly(adv.)

"once a month, in every month," 1530s, from month + -ly (2).

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August
eighth month, late 11c., from Latin Augustus (mensis), sixth month of the later Roman calendar, renamed from Sextilis (literally...In England, the name replaced native Weodmonað "weed month."...Traditionally the first month of autumn in Great Britain, the last of summer in the U.S....
November
The ninth month of the Roman calendar, which began in March. For -ber see December....In Old English, it was Blotmonað "month of sacrifice," literally "blood-month," the time when the early Saxons prepared for...
Ramadan
ninth month of the Muslim year, period of the annual thirty-days' fast, 1590s, earlier Ramazan (c. 1500), from Arabic Ramadan...(Turkish and Persian ramazan), originally "the hot month," from ramida "be burnt, scorched" (compare Mishnaic Hebrew remetz...Islamic lunar calendar, it passes through all seasons in a cycle of about 33 years, but evidently originally it was a summer month...
February
month following January, late 14c., ultimately from Latin februarius mensis "month of purification," from februare "to purify...The last month of the ancient (pre-450 B.C.E.)...Roman calendar, so named in reference to the Roman feast of purification, held on the ides of the month....The Old English name for it was solmonað, which is said to mean "mud month."...
September
"ninth month of the Roman year," late Old English Septembre, from Old French septembre, setembre, and directly from Latin...So called because it was the original seventh month of the old Roman calendar, which began the year in March; Julian calendar...The native names are Old English hærfestmonað ("harvest month"), haligmonað ("holy month")....
July
seventh month, c. 1050, Iulius, from Anglo-French julie, Old French Juil, Jule (Modern French uses a diminutive, Juillet)...and directly from Latin Iulius "fifth month of the Roman calendar" (which began its year in March), renamed after his death...and deification in honor of Gaius Julius Caesar, who was born in this month....
May
fifth month of the modern calendar, early 12c., Mai, from Old French mai and directly from Latin Majus, Maius mensis "month..."[R]eckoned on the continent of Europe and in America as the last month of spring, but in Great Britain as the first of summer...Replaced Old English þrimilce, month in which cows can be milked three times a day....
date
early 14c., "a period or stretch of time, a season, an age;" mid-14c., "time when something happened or will happen," from Old French date (13c.) "date, day; time," from Medieval Latin data, noun use of fem. singular of Latin datus "given," past participle of dare "to give, grant
year
Old English gear (West Saxon), ger (Anglian) "year," from Proto-Germanic *jēr "year" (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German jar, Old Norse ar, Danish aar, Old Frisian ger, Dutch jaar, German Jahr, Gothic jer "year"), from PIE *yer-o-, from root *yer- "year, season" (source al
full
Old English full "containing all that can be received; having eaten or drunk to repletion; filled; perfect, entire, utter," from Proto-Germanic *fullaz "full" (source also of Old Saxon full, Old Frisian ful, Dutch vol, Old High German fol, German voll, Old Norse fullr, Gothic ful

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