February

noun

Feb·​ru·​ary ˈfe-b(y)ə-ˌwer-ē  ˈfe-brə- 

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

But their return was delayed multiple times until NASA finally decided in August that the safest route would be to send the pair back to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon vehicle in February. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024

An exact closing date wasn’t announced, but it’s expected to shutter in February. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2024

When their debut album Shake Your Money Maker came out on February 13, 1990, hair metal bands like Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard were huge. —Charles Moss, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2024

The blue chips haven’t closed in the red for nine consecutive days since February 1978 — when Jimmy Carter was in the White House. —Alexandra Banner, CNN, 18 Dec. 2024

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

Kids Definition

February

noun

Feb·​ru·​ary ˈfeb-(y)ə-ˌwer-ē  ˈfeb-rə- 

: 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.