Word for Wednesday: December

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In the Western world, the most widely used calendar is the Gregorian calendar, but some of the names of the months come from the calendars used by the ancient Romans. The calendar of Romulus had ten months, beginning with the spring equinox in March and ending in December.

Although December is no longer the tenth month, it is still named for its position in the ten-month calendar - 'decem-' is Latin for 'ten'. September October, and November are also named for their old positions (seventh, eighth, and ninth), and July and August used to be called 'Quintilis' and 'Sextillia' (fifth and sixth).

You can read more about where the months get their names from here.

Have a wonderful Christmas!


23 Dec 2015
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"This is a fantastic opportunity for our students!  I'm sure Spellzone will be invaluable in helping them to improve their spellings and therefore improve the quality of their writing in all subject areas!"

Teacher, High School, UK