[muhnth] 
| 1. | Also called calendar month. any of the twelve parts, as January or February, into which the calendar year is divided. |
| 2. | the time from any day of one calendar month to the corresponding day of the next. |
| 3. | a period of four weeks or 30 days. |
| 4. | Also called solar month. one-twelfth of a solar or tropical year. |
| 5. | Also called lunar month. the period of a complete revolution of the moon around the earth, as the period between successive new moons (synodic month), equal to 29.531 days, or the period between successive conjunctions with a star (sidereal month), equal to 27.322 days, or the period between successive perigees (anomalistic month), equal to 27.555 days, or the period between successive similar nodes (nodical month or draconic month), equal to 27.212 days. |
| 6. | an unusually long period of time of indefinite length: I haven't seen him for months. |
| month (mŭnth) n.
[Middle English moneth, from Old English mōnath; see mē-2 in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: The singular month, preceded by a number and a hyphen, is used as a compound attributive: a three-month vacation. The plural possessive form without a hyphen is also possible: a three months' vacation. |
Month
Among the Egyptians the month of thirty days each was in use long before the time of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their calculations. From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the month among the Jews was lunar. The cycle of religious feasts depended on the moon. The commencement of a month was determined by the observation of the new moon. The number of months in the year was usually twelve (1 Kings 4:7; 1 Chr. 27:1-15); but every third year an additional month (ve-Adar) was inserted, so as to make the months coincide with the seasons. "The Hebrews and Phoenicians had no word for month save 'moon,' and only saved their calendar from becoming vague like that of the Moslems by the interpolation of an additional month. There is no evidence at all that they ever used a true solar year such as the Egyptians possessed. The latter had twelve months of thirty days and five epagomenac or odd days.", Palestine Quarterly, January 1889.
month
In addition to the idiom beginning with month, also see by the day (month); (for months) on end.
month
a measure of time corresponding or nearly corresponding to the length of time required by the Moon to revolve once around the Earth
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