# February

Pronunciation: US say "FEB-roo-air-ee" /ˈfɛb.ɹuˌɛɹi/; UK say "FEB-ruu-uh-ree" /ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi/

## Proper noun

1. The short month that follows January and precedes March, and the one to which an extra day is added in leap years.
   - Simple: The second month of the year, coming after January and before March.
   - _The conference is scheduled for the last week of February._
   - _Every four years, February gains a twenty-ninth day._

## Origin

February comes from Middle English Februarie, from Latin Februārius, "the month of the Februa": Februa being the Roman purification festival held two days after its ides (February 15). The word Februa traces back to februum ("purging"), probably an old Latin word (Varro called it Sabine), possibly from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "smoke" or "to burn." This relatinized form replaced the earlier Middle English feoverel, from Old French feverier, which itself had displaced Old English solmōnaþ, which Bede called the month of cakes.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/february (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).