Calendar Calendar information Calendar type Lunar solar Calendar era Insertion of leap years Other Armelin calendars · Armenian: pagan, Christian ... Wikipedia

Calendar Calendar information Calendar type Solar, Lunar, Lunar-solar Calendar era Insertion of leap years Other calendars Armelina · Armenian · Assyrian · Aztec · Baha'i · Bengali · ... Wikipedia

Unlike the languages ​​of Western Europe and Russian, which use month names of Latin origin, in many Slavic languages ​​such names have Slavic etymology. However, there is no mutuality between such names in different languages... ... Wikipedia

Unlike the languages ​​of Western Europe and Russian, which use month names of Latin origin, in many Slavic languages ​​such names have Slavic etymology. However, there is no mutuality between such names in different languages... ... Wikipedia

Unlike the languages ​​of Western Europe and Russian, which use month names of Latin origin, in many Slavic languages ​​such names have Slavic etymology. However, there is no mutuality between such names in different languages... ... Wikipedia

Unlike the languages ​​of Western Europe and Russian, which use month names of Latin origin, in many Slavic languages ​​such names have Slavic etymology. However, there is no mutuality between such names in different languages... ... Wikipedia

Unlike the languages ​​of Western Europe and Russian, which use month names of Latin origin, in many Slavic languages ​​such names have Slavic etymology. However, there is no mutuality between such names in different languages... ... Wikipedia

Unlike the languages ​​of Western Europe and Russian, which use month names of Latin origin, in many Slavic languages ​​such names have Slavic etymology. However, there is no mutuality between such names in different languages... ... Wikipedia

Unlike the languages ​​of Western Europe and Russian, which use month names of Latin origin, in many Slavic languages ​​such names have Slavic etymology. However, there is no mutuality between such names in different languages... ... Wikipedia

The other day, when November arrived and the leaves began to fall, the following thought came to me: “Why is November called November in Russian, and, for example, in Ukrainian, “Leaf Fall”...?

After all, these languages ​​have a common origin, but the names are so different....

And here's what turned out:

Names of the months of the Old Russian calendar

The ancient Slavs, like many other peoples, initially based their calendar on the period of changing lunar phases. But already by the time of the adoption of Christianity, that is, by the end of the 10th century. AD, Ancient Rus' I used the lunisolar calendar. It was not possible to definitively establish what the calendar of the ancient Slavs was. It is only known that initially time was counted by seasons. Probably, the 12-month period was also used at the same time moon calendar. In later times, the Slavs switched to a lunisolar calendar, in which an additional 13th month was inserted 7 times every 19 years. The most ancient monuments of Russian writing show that the months had purely Slavic names, the origin of which was closely related to natural phenomena. The year began on March 1, and around this time agricultural work began. Many ancient names of months later passed into a number of Slavic languages ​​and were largely retained in some modern languages, in particular in Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish, as can be clearly seen from the table.

Names of months in some Slavic languages

Modern names of the months originate from the ancient Romans. Initially, the Roman year began in the spring and consisted of 10 months, which were designated by serial numbers. Later some months were renamed.

January: Latin: Januarius. Named after the god Janus - in Roman mythology - the two-faced god of doors, entrances, exits, various passages, as well as beginnings and ends. The Slavic name "Prosinets" means the rebirth of the Sun. The Little Russian name for January is “juicy”: after gray December, the colors of nature become rich and bright. On Chuvash language- karlach.

February: Latin: Februarius. Named after the festival of the purification of Februa (Februs is the god of the underworld of the dead, on which the festival of the purification of Februa was held, when the living brought sacrifices to the dead, calling for their protection.). Slavic names: “Sechen” - the time to cut trees to clear the land for arable land, “Bokogrey” - cattle come out to bask in the sun, “Vetroduy” - the winds whip with cold in February. But he still rages - “Lute”. February was also called “low water” (the time between winter and spring). In the Chuvash language, naras (nuras) means “new day,” that is, the first day of the new year.

March: Latin: Martius. Named after the god Mars - the Roman god of war and patron of Roman power. The Slavic name is "Dry" - the ground dries from the falling snow. The indigenous Slavic-Russian names of this month in the old days in Rus' were different: in the north it was called dry or dry from the spring warmth, drying up all moisture, in the south - berezozol, from the action of the spring sun on the birch, which at this time begins to fill with sweet sap and sprouts buds. “Zimobor” - conquering winter, opening the way to spring and summer, “Protalnik” - this month the snow begins to melt, thawed patches and drops appear. In the Chuvash language - push, that is, an “empty” month free from agricultural work.

April: Latin: Aprilis. Named after the goddess Aphrodite or from the Latin word aperire - to open. The Old Russian names for the month of April were “Brezen”, “Snowgon” - streams run, taking with them the remnants of snow, or also “Blossom”, because that’s when the first trees begin to bloom, spring blossoms. In the Chuvash language - aka, since sowing work began at that time.

May: Latin: Maius. On behalf of the ancient Roman goddess of spring Maia.

The Slavic name “Traven”, “herbal” - a riot of herbs and greenery. Nature is blooming. In the Chuvash language - su - the approach of summer.

June: Latin: Junius. On behalf of the ancient Roman goddess Juno, wife of the god Jupiter, goddess of marriage and birth. In the old days, the indigenous Russian names for the month of June were "Izok". Izokom was the name given to a grasshopper, of which there was particular abundance this month. Another name for this month is "Cherven", from the mealybug or worm; This is the name given to a special kind of dye worms that appear at this time. In the Chuvash language - sertme.

July : Latin: Julius. Named after Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Previously it was called quintilium from the word quintus - fifth, because it was the 5th month of the old Roman calendar, since the year began with March. In our old days, it was called, like June, “Cherven” - from the fruits and berries that, ripening in July, are distinguished by their particular reddishness (scarlet, red). This month is also called “Lipets” - from the linden tree, which usually appears in full bloom at this time. July is also called the “crown of summer”, as it is considered last month summer, or also “sufferer” - from hard summer work, “thunderstormer” - from strong thunderstorms. In the Chuvash language - uta - haymaking time.

August : Latin: Augustus. Named after Emperor Augustus in 8 BC. Previously it was called sextilium from the word sextus - sixth. In the north of Rus' it was called “Zarev” - from the radiance of the lightning; in the south “Serpen” - from the sickle used to remove grain from the fields. Often this month is given the name “Zornik”, in which one cannot help but see a modified old name “glow”. Also, this month was more famously called “stubble”, I think it would be unnecessary to explain. In the Chuvash language - surla (sickle).

September : Latin: September. From the word septem - seven, because it was the 7th month of the old Roman calendar. In the old days, the original Russian name for the month was "Ruin", from the roar of autumn winds and animals, especially deer. He received the name “Khmuren” due to his weather differences from others - the sky often begins to frown, it rains, autumn is in nature. In the Chuvash language - avan (ovin - a structure for drying bread) - at this time grain was dried.

October : Latin: October. From the word octo - eight. The Slavic name is “Listopad” - well, everything is obvious here. It also bore the name “pazdernik” - from pazderi, kostriki, since in this month they begin to crush flax, hemp, and manners. Otherwise - “muddy”, from the autumn rains that cause bad weather and dirt, or “wedding party” - from weddings that are celebrated at this time in peasant life. In the Chuvash language - yupa (connected with the ritual performed this month).

November : Latin: November - ninth month. The Slavic name "Gruden" comes from piles of frozen earth with snow. In general, in the ancient Russian language, the frozen winter road was called the chest path. In the Chuvash language - chuk (connected with the ritual performed this month).

December : Latin: December. From the word decem - ten. The Slavic name "Studen" means cold month. In the Chuvash language - Rashtav, derived from the term “Christmas”.

Having examined all the names, it is difficult not to notice that the ancient Roman month could have received its name in honor of some outstanding historical figure, the holiday that was celebrated in it, the features of its “character”, and the name of the deities.

Unlike the Latin names of the months dedicated to the gods, the original Slavic ones are associated with economic activity, weather changes, pagan holidays or other completely understandable phenomena.

Today, we Russians, unfortunately, no longer use the Slavic names of the months; we use Latin names that came to us from the ancient Romans. Meanwhile, many Slavic languages, for example, Ukrainian, Belarusian, retained their original names of the months.

In our opinion, the Slavic names of the months are much closer and more logical to us than the Latin borrowings.

It also seems to me that the original Slavic names of the months are more beautiful and more informative...

But....what we have, we have....

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Series of messages " ":

This section contains various interesting information. It happens that some phenomenon or fact interests us, or children ask a question about something.... In order not to lose this information, we save it in the “Interesting” section

Part 1 - Names of months among the Slavs
Part 2 -
Part 3 -
Part 4 -

The Ukrainian language has many similarities with Russian, and often, even without knowing it, you can guess the meaning of a sentence you hear. But the names of the months in Ukrainian confuse a Russian-speaking person. They are fundamentally different from the usual names, such as January, February, March, etc. What are the similarities and differences and what causes them - we will talk about this in more detail in our article.

Similarities and differences: is there a system?

The names of the months in Ukrainian and Russian sound completely different. The only thing they have in common is their number per year. Both the Russian and Ukrainian calendars have 12 months. The number of days in each of them is also completely the same. In principle, this is where the similarities end and the differences begin.

The Russian language uses month names borrowed from a group of Latin languages. Each of them received its name in honor of one of the gods or prominent figures of the Roman Empire. So January is named after Janus, the ancient Roman two-faced deity. He was the god of entrances and doors, personifying the beginning and the end. March got its name in honor of Mars, the god of war, and July is a tribute to the birth month of Gaius Julius Caesar.

The origin of Russian names from the Latin language explains their similarity with English, French and other languages ​​of this group. What's wrong with the names of the months in Ukrainian and why can't we intuitively understand their meaning?

Origin of Ukrainian names

The secret of the difference is simple: the origin of the Ukrainian names of the months originates in Slavic history and has precisely Old Slavic roots. You can find similarities in the Ukrainian, Slovak, Polish and Croatian languages, which only confirms their relationship.

The Slavs named each month not in honor of a god or a politician, but according to the most significant events of that particular time of the year. That is why the name of each of them in the Ukrainian language carries a semantic load, and understanding and remembering the Ukrainian calendar will not be difficult if you learn to recognize this very meaning.

Winter months: from frost to cold

The first month of winter, familiar to us as December, in Ukrainian is called “Bruden” (read as “Gruden”). This is explained simply. At the first frosts, which occur in December, the soil, soaked after autumn, freezes into clods and uneven areas, like piles. Hence the name - the roads in December turned into solid piles until persistent frosty weather set in.

January in Ukrainian is called “sichen” (“sichen”). This time of year in Slavic times required preparation for spring sowing, and such preparation consisted of cutting down and cutting through forests to free up territory for sowing. Also, this name is explained by the first strong, “cutting” frosts that occurred in January.

The final month of winter - February - in the Ukrainian language is “lyutiy” (“fierce”). Everything is simple here: during the cold period, supplies have come to an end, frosts are getting worse, spring is approaching. This month has always been truly evil, fierce for people. With the development of civilization, it ceased to be so formidable, but in memory of bygone times, the name lives on in the Ukrainian language.

Spring is coming, everything is greening and blooming!

March in Ukrainian sounds like “berezen” (“berezen”, with the emphasis on the first syllable) and it is reasonable to assume that this is connected with the beautiful tree - birch. It is in March that the movement of sap in birch trees and its active collection begin, which is why the first month of spring received such a name.

April is “kviten” (“kviten”). In Ukrainian, “kviti” means flowers, and the verb “kvitnuti” means “to bloom.” In April, nature comes to life, the first plants begin to wake up and spring flowers begin to bloom. Hence the origin of the name.

The last month of spring is called “traven” (“traven”). It is in May that nature is most lush, blooming, playing with all shades of green. Green grass gave its name to this spring month.

Summer months: paying tribute to nature

The first summer month of June in Ukrainian is called “cherven” (“cherven” with the emphasis on the first syllable). The origin of this name is explained by the fact that it is at this time of year that the larvae of scale insects appear, which were used to obtain red paint.

In Ukrainian, “chervoniy” means “red,” so the appearance of the name “cherven” (June in Ukrainian) is also associated with the ripening of red berries and fruits during this period.

The second month of summer, July, is called “lipen” (“lypen”), and it is very easy to remember. At this time, the linden blossoms, and the beautiful fragrant linden blossom gives the name to this summer month in the Ukrainian language.

August has always been a time of active field work, and its name in Ukrainian can fully reflect this. The last month of summer is called “serpen” (“serpen”) from the word “sickle”, with the help of which the harvest was carried out during the harvesting work.

Autumn: beauty and decline

The autumn months of September, October and November are also easy to remember by tracing the connection between their names and the natural phenomena characteristic of this time of year.

The most unusual name for a Russian-speaking person is the name of the first month of autumn - “Veresen” (“Veresen”). A simple and understandable explanation is this: at this time the heather blooms, which is why this name has taken root. There is also another possible origin: from the word “vreshchi”, meaning threshing. In any case, the word is unusual to perceive and requires some time to remember.

But October is easy to remember in Ukrainian, it is called “zhovten” (“zhovten”). It is absolutely logical to assume that this name comes from the yellow color of the surrounding nature, which amazes with its beauty and colors in October.

November in Ukrainian is also very easy to understand and remember; it is called “listopad” (“bald fall”, with the emphasis on the last syllable). Here, the origin of the word is also due to natural phenomena and the flying of leaves from trees and bushes before winter.

The names of the months in Ukrainian can be difficult to understand and remember the first time, because these words seem completely meaningless to a Russian person. But having learned a little more about their origin, Slavic history and the meaning that our ancestors attached to the names of the months, you can easily understand the calendar not only in Ukrainian, but also in Belarusian and Polish.

The names of the months are pronounced differently in Ukrainian and in different languages ​​of the world. In many ways they are similar to each other. Let's see how the names of the seasons of the year differ in different countries.

Names of the months in Ukrainian

In the Ukrainian language, the name of each has the designation or brief description weather conditions at that time. This is due to historical signs that our ancestors have observed from time immemorial.

The name of the months in Ukrainian is “misyatsi”. Now let's look at the meaning of the calendar seasons in the designation of the neighboring state.

Ukrainian names of the months of the year

January

Translated from Russian into Ukrainian - “sichen”. In Latin, January sounds like “lanarius” and is named after the Roman god Janus (guardian of the house and gates).

“Sich” - very ancient name land development process. Previously, at this time, people began to put their gardens in order, preparing the soil for spring. They uprooted stumps, collected branches, loosened the ground a little if there was no snow. Hence the name winter month, which includes 31 days.

February

“Fierce” is the second month of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. It has 28 days, and in a leap year - 29. In the Ukrainian language, this name was fixed at the end of the 19th century. “Fierce” means formidable, difficult, obstinate, like the weather itself this month.

March

Berezen - from the word “berezol”. The third month of the year has 31 days. The meaning arose from the name of the craft where birch ash is harvested to make glass. This process was carried out during a thaw, just in March.

April

The second month of spring, April, sounds like “kviten” in Ukrainian. This name was assigned to it in the 16th century. “Kvitka” means flower. It is characterized by the bright flowering of nature. April has 30 days.

"Traven" - from the word "grass". The first snowdrops and other flowers bloomed, and the earth was covered with fresh fragrant grass. This is what the name of the third spring month “Traven” symbolizes. This is what his ancestors called him during the times of Kievan Rus. The month of May consists of 31 calendar days.

With the translation of the Ukrainian names of the summer months of the year into Russian, everything is much simpler. Each month has a very clear designation.

Summer season

June

“Cherven” is the first summer month, which includes 30 days. Characterized by the most long days and short nights. The name of the month comes from the Ukrainian word “worm”. This was the name of the red insect that was born during this period. Since ancient times, their insides have been used as red paint. Here lies the second concept of the name of the month from the word “red” - red.

July

“Lipen” is the seventh month of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. There are 31 days in July. The Ukrainian name of the month comes from the word “linden”. This time is characterized by the collection of linden blossoms and is called the honey harvest period.

August

The month “serpen” (August) comes from the word “sickle”. This is a tool used to cut grain. The name originates from the ancient Slavs. August consists of 31 days.

September

What does “September” sound like in Ukrainian? The first one in Ukraine is called “Veresen”.

The name came from Polesie. During this period, heather blooms there - a valuable honey plant. A month has 30 days.

October

“Zhovten” is the time when the leaves turn yellow. The month received this name from the times of Kievan Rus. People also called it mud, gloomy, deciduous, winter, wedding. October has 31 days.

November

November in Ukrainian is “leaf fall”, comes from the words “leaves” and “fall”. It is during this season that the trees finally shed their leaves, which is characterized as leaf fall. November (in Ukrainian “leaf fall”) has 30 days.

December

“Breast” - from the word breast (clumps). In ancient times, after the autumn rains, the primers trampled by carts froze. It was difficult to drive on such roads - frozen clods got in the way. Breasts also formed on frozen plowed fields. Hence the name of the month, which has 31 days and is the final month of the year.

Names of months in the world

The names of the months in Ukrainian are easy to understand and remember. In many Slavic languages ​​( Western Europe and Russia) the names of the months are of Slavic origin. But in different languages ​​there are missing one-to-one correspondences between these names. Sometimes they are even shifted by one month in different language territories.

Ukrainian, Polish, Belarusian, Czech and Croatian use exclusively Slavic month names.

Official Slavic names of months are not used in Russian, Slovak, Serbian languages.

International Latin names for months are used in Bulgarian and Macedonian. In the Slovenian language, two systems operate in parallel.

Let's sum it up

The names of the months in Ukrainian differ from such names in Russian. Many of them were fixed since the times of Kievan Rus and had only meanings characteristic of weather conditions. The months of the year in the Ukrainian language are exclusively Slavic in origin. While in Russian their name comes from Latin designations.

How and why months are called in Slavic languages.

In many languages, including English and Russian, the names of the months have a Latin base. In Slavic languages, each month had its own name, and more than one.

January

Latin: Januarius. Named after the god Janus.
The Slavic name “Prosinets” - either from “to shine” - means the rebirth of the Sun, or from the appearing blue of the sky in January. The Little Russian name for January is “sochen”. After gray December, the colors of nature become rich and bright.
In Ukrainian the month is called "sichen"
In Belarusian - “stuzen”

February

Latin: Februarius. Named after the festival of the purification of Februa.
Slavic name "Sechen", "Bokogrey", "Vetroduy" and "Lute"
Time to cut trees to clear the land for arable land. Bokogray - the cattle comes out to bask in the sun. It was also called “low water” (the time between winter and spring). The winds in February whip with cold. But he’s still angry. Due to frequent blizzards and blizzards, February was also called “windstorm” and “lute”. In February there are major frosts, which are respectively called: Kashcheev (February 2), Velesov (February 11).
In the Ukrainian language the month is called "lyutiy"
In Belarusian it is "fierce"

March

Latin: Martius. Named after the god Mars.
The Slavic name is “Dry” - the ground dries from the falling snow.
This month was also called Zimobor, protalnik, berezozol (March). The indigenous Slavic-Russian names of this month in the old days in Rus' were different: in the north it was called dry or dry from the spring warmth, drying up all moisture, in the south - berezozol, from the action of the spring sun on the birch, which at this time begins to fill with sweet sap and sprouts buds. Zimobor - conquering winter, opening the way to spring and summer, thawed snow - this month the snow begins to melt, thawed patches and drops appear.
In the Ukrainian language the month is called “berezen”. Ukrainian spring comes earlier.
In Belarusian - "sakavik"

April

Latin: Aprilis. Named after the goddess Aphrodite or from the Latin word aperire - to open.
The ancient Russian names for the month of April were: brezen, snowgon - streams run, taking with them the remains of snow, or also - pollen, because it is then that the first trees begin to bloom, spring blooms.
In Ukrainian the month is called "kviten"
In Belarusian it means “handsome”. It’s beautiful in Belarus in April.

May

Latin: Maius. On behalf of the ancient Roman goddess of spring Maia.
The Slavic name is “Traven”, “herbal” - a riot of herbs and greenery. Nature is blooming.
In Ukrainian the month is called "traven"
In Belarusian - "May"

June

Latin: Junius. On behalf of the ancient Roman goddess Juno, wife of the god Jupiter.
In the old days, the indigenous Russian name for the month of June was izok. Izokom was the name given to a grasshopper, of which there was particular abundance this month. Another name for this month is worm, especially common among Little Russians, from chervetsa or worm; This is the name given to a special kind of dye worms that appear at this time. In addition, in the old days, the month of June was very often popularly called Kresnik - from the cross (fire), and at the same time from the day of John the Baptist (Ivan Kupala).
In Ukrainian the month is called "cherven"
In Belarusian - “cherven”

July

Latin: Julius. Named after Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Previously called quintilium from the word quintus - fifth, because it was the 5th month of the old Roman calendar. The year began with March.
In our old days, it was called, like June, - cherven - from fruits and berries, which, ripening in July, are distinguished by their particular reddishness (scarlet, red). This month is also called Lipets - from the linden tree, which usually appears in full bloom at this time. July is also called the “crown of summer”, since it is considered the last month of summer, or also a “sufferer” - from hard summer work, a “thunderstorm” - from strong thunderstorms.
In Ukrainian the month is called "Lipen"
In Belarusian - "lipen"

August

Latin: Augustus. Named after Emperor Augustus in 8 BC. Previously called sextilium from the word sextus - sixth, because it was the 6th month of the old Roman calendar. The year began with March.
The Slavic name "Serpen" means time to mow wheat. In the north it was called “glow” - from the radiance of lightning; in the south, “serpen” comes from a sickle used to remove grain from the fields. Often this month is given the name “Zornik”, in which one cannot help but see a modified old name “glow”. The name “stubble”, I think, would be unnecessary to explain.
In Ukrainian the month is called "serpen"
In Belarusian - almost the same - "zhniven"

September

Latin: September. From the word septem - seven, because it was the 7th month of the old Roman calendar. The year began with March.
In the old days, the original Russian name for the month was “ruin”, from the roar of autumn winds and animals, especially deer. He received the name “gloomy” due to his weather differences from others - the sky often begins to frown, it rains, autumn is coming in nature.
In the Ukrainian language the month is called "Verseny"
In Belarusian - “verasen”

October

Latin: October. From the word octo - eight, because it was the 8th month of the old Roman calendar. The year began with March.
The Slavic name is “Listopad” - well, everything is obvious here. It also bore the name “pazdernik” - from pazderi, kostriki, since in this month they begin to crush flax, hemp, and manners. Otherwise - a “dirty man”, from the autumn rains that cause bad weather and dirt, or a “wedding man” - from the weddings that are celebrated at this time in peasant life.
In Ukrainian the month is called "Zhovten"
In Belarusian - “kastrychnik”

November

Latin: November. From the word novem - nine, because it was the 9th month of the old Roman calendar. The year began with March.
Slavic name "Gruden". In the old days, this month was called the breast month itself, or chest month, from the piles of frozen earth with snow. In general, in the ancient Russian language, the frozen winter road was called the chest path. In the Dahl Dictionary, the regional word pile is “frozen ruts along the road, frozen hummocky dirt.”
In Ukrainian the month is called "leaf fall"
In Belarusian - “listapad”

December

Latin: December. From the word decem - ten, because it was the 10th month of the old Roman calendar. The year began with March.
The Slavic name "Studen" means a cold month, after all.
In Ukrainian the month is called "breast"
In Belarusian he is Snezhan