An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A → solar calendar in which the year length is assumed to be 365.2425 solar days. It is now used as the civil calendar in most countries. The Gregorian calendar is a revision of the → Julian calendar instituted in a papal bull by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The reason for the calendar change was to correct for drift in the dates of significant religious observations (primarily Easter) and to prevent further drift in the dates.

Named after Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585), an Italian, born Ugo Boncompagni, Pope from 1572 to 1585, who ordered the reform of the Julian calendar; → calendar.