February

noun

plural Februaries or Februarys
: the second month of the Gregorian calendar
How do you pronounce February?: Usage Guide

Dissimilation may occur when a word contains two identical or closely related sounds, resulting in the change or loss of one of them. This happens regularly in February, which is more often pronounced \ˈfe-b(y)ə-ˌwer-ē\ than \ˈfe-brə-ˌwer-ē\, though all of these variants are in frequent use and widely accepted. The \y\ heard from many speakers is not an intrusion but rather a common pronunciation of the vowel u after a consonant, as in January and annual.

Examples of February in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Saturday’s match will be the Matildas’ final fixture of 2024 before the team begins its 2025 campaign at the SheBelieves Cup in February in the United States. Manasi Pathak, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024 The royal family was rocked when Buckingham Palace announced in February that King Charles was diagnosed with cancer, and his treatment is thought to be ongoing. Janine Henni, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024 The agency launched a new email inbox in February for criminal justice authorities to use when reporting crimes and earlier this year sent police departments and state’s attorney’s offices information about the requirement to report charges to IDFPR. Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 6 Dec. 2024 Airbus pulled the plug on the superjumbo in February 2019, after 12 years of service and said its last deliveries of the jet, which cost about $25 billion to develop, would be made in 2021. Tiah Shepherd, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for February 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Februarie, from Old English Februarius, from Latin, from Februa, plural, feast of purification

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of February was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near February

Cite this Entry

“February.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/February. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

February

noun
: the second month of the year
Etymology

Old English Februarius "February," from Latin Februarius "February," literally, "of Februa," from Februa "feast of cleansing"

Word Origin
Every winter the ancient Romans would celebrate a festival of spiritual cleansing. The name of the festival was Februa. Because of its importance the Romans named the month in which it fell Februarius, which means "of Februa." The English name February comes from the Latin Februarius.

More from Merriam-Webster on February

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