Feb·ru·ar·y
 February
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- pronunciation:
- fe
bru
eI
ri
- features:
- Word History
| part of speech: |
noun |
| inflections: |
Februaries |
| definition: |
the second month of the year. February usually has twenty-eight days, but it has twenty-nine days in a leap year.
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February comes from a Latin name for the month,
februarius mensis, which means "month of the Februa festival."
Februa was a Roman festival of purification celebrated in February. In English, the month has been called "February" since 1200. Before that, February was called by an Old English name that meant "mud month."