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month

noun
MUNTH/mʌnθ/

Pluralmonths

3 meanings of month

Practice

  1. 1
    about 30 daysnouncountable
    A period of about four weeks or thirty days, or the time from a given date to the same date in the next month.

    The free trial lasts one month, starting from the day you sign up.

    The contract spans eighteen months from the signing date.

    UsageSay six months, but a six-month trial before a noun (not incorrect: a six-months trial).

    Note

    Here the word counts out a span of time rather than naming a slot in the calendar, as when Georgette Heyer's The Unknown Ajax (1959) says a servant "had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place." Unlike the calendar month, it can begin on any date.

  2. 2
    calendar partnouncountable
    One of the twelve named periods into which a year is divided, originally based on the phases of the moon.

    February is the shortest month of the year.

    My birthday falls in the same month as my sister's, so we often celebrate together.

    UsageUse in with a month on its own, in February, but on with a full date, on February 14.

    Note

    Old English mōnaþ goes back to a Proto-Indo-European word meaning both "moon" and "month," probably built on a root meaning "measure," because the moon's cycles were how early speakers measured time. Month and moon are therefore close relatives.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  3. 3
    nounobsoleteplural
    In the plural, months: a woman's monthly menstrual discharge.
    Sckenkius hath two other instances of two melancholy and mad women, so caused from the suppression of their months.
    1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy
    Note

    Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy blames two women's madness on "the suppression of their months." Readers will meet it only in older texts like this one. Today the ordinary word is period, and months used this way would simply be misunderstood.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Robert Burton wrote The Anatomy of Melancholy. gutenberg.org
    • The work attributes two women's madness to suppressed menstruation and contains the quoted wording. gutenberg.org

Practice

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Origin

"Month" comes from Middle English mon(e)th, from Old English mōnaþ, and further back through Proto-Germanic *mēnōþs to Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s ("moon, month"). This is probably derived from a root *meh₁- ("measure"), since moon-cycles were used to measure time. It is related to "moon."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

  • Month descends from Middle English mon(e)th and Old English mōnaþ. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Old English form descends ultimately from Proto-Germanic *mēnōþs. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Proto-Germanic form derives from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s, meaning moon or month. en.wiktionary.org
  • The proposed derivation from *meh₁-, meaning measure, is probable rather than certain. en.wiktionary.org
  • Lunar cycles were used to measure time. en.wikipedia.org
  • Month is etymologically related to moon. en.wiktionary.org