A period of time based on the revolution of the Moon around the Earth.
Several types of months are defined: → anomalistic month;
→ draconic month; → sidereal month;
→ synodic month; → tropical month.
Etymology (EN): O.E. monað, from P.Gmc. *mænoth- (O.N. manaðr, M.Du. manet,
Du. maand, O.H.G. manod, Ger. Monat, Goth. menoþs
“month”), related to *mænon-, → moon.
Etymology (PE): Mâh and mâng in Pers. are variants of the same term, the dominant form being
mâh, while mâng (Av. from, see below) is used in classical literature
as well as in some dialects: Tabari, Kurd. mâng, Laki, Tâti, Taeši
mong, Šahmirzâdi,
Sangesari mung; Mid.Pers. mâh “moon, month;” O.Pers. māha-
“moon, month;” Av. māh- “month, moon,” also māwngh-; cf.
Skt. mās- “moon, month;” Gk.
mene “moon,” men “month;” L. mensis “month;”
O.C.S. meseci, Lith. menesis “moon, month;” O.Ir. mi,
Welsh mis, Bret. miz “month;”
O.E. mona; E. moon, month; Ger. Mond, Monat;
Du. maan; PIE base *me(n)ses- “moon, month.”
Note: In Persian the same term, mâh, is used for two different,
but related, concepts: moon and month.
This was also the case for other IE languages, as shows the above
etymology. However, other IE languages have evolved toward more accuracy by
using different forms of the same initial term, as in E. moon / month or
Ger. Mond / Monat. The Latin family uses two unrelated
words, as in Fr. lune “moon” / mois “month” and Sp. luna / mes.
An additional difficulty in present Pers. is that the adj. mâhi not only
means “lunar” and “monthly” it also denotes “fish.” For the sake of clarity
and precision, this dictionary uses mângi for “lunar.”
