An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A calendar in which the → solar year consists of 12 or 13 lunar → synodic months. Lunisolar calendars are → solar calendars, but use the lunar month as the basic unit rather than the → solar day. The 13th → embolismic month is to keep lunar and solar cycles in pace with each other. The reason is that the solar year has about 365 days, but 12 lunar months amount to 354 days, which is about 11 days short of a year. The most well-known lunisolar calendars are the Babylonian, Hebrew, and Chinese.

From luni-, from → lunar, + → solar; → calendar.

A calendar based on the apparent yearly motion of the Sun on the → celestial sphere. The year is usually reckoned with respect to the → vernal equinox, approximately for example in the case of the → Gregorian calendar and accurately in the case of the → Iranian calendar.

→ solar; → calendar.