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months

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month

[muhnth]
–noun
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.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE mōnath; c. OHG mānōd, ON mānathr. See moon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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month   (mŭnth)   
n.  
  1. A unit of time corresponding approximately to one cycle of the moon's phases, or about 30 days or 4 weeks.

  2. Abbr. mo. One of the 12 divisions of a year as determined by a calendar, especially the Gregorian calendar. Also called calendar month.

  3. A period extending from a date in one calendar month to the corresponding date in the following month.

  4. A sidereal month.

  5. A lunar month.

  6. A solar month.


[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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

month 
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" (see moon). Its cognates mean only "month" in the Romance languages, but in Gmc. generally continue to do double duty. Phrase a month of Sundays "a very long time" is from 1832 (roughly 7 and a half months, but never used literally).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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