Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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adj
Having an intercalary day, particularly the quadrennial leap day of the Julian and Gregorian calendars traditionally placed as a "second sixth" day before March 1st.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Synonym of leap year: a year with an intercalary day.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: leap year
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Latin bisextilis/bissextilis (annus) (“bissextile year”), from bisextus + -ilis, from bis- (“two; twice; doubled”) + sextus (“sixth”) + dies (“day”), from the Julian calendar's original reckoning of its quadrennial intercalary day as a 48-hour February 24, subsequently distinguished as the two separate days of the sixth day before the March calends (ante diem sextum Kalendas Martias) and the "doubled sixth day". (February 24 is now normally understood as five days before the first of March, but was called the sixth by the Romans owing to their inclusive counting of dates. See Roman calendar on Wikipedia.)
Across languages
13 source translations are retained for this English entry.
