Retired Words

Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day — six Chinese holidays English describes instead of names. The real names are shorter and richer.

Twelve Chinese cities whose names English still gets wrong — from Nanking to Urumchi. The pinyin is shorter, simpler, and used by a billion people. Time to update.

December comes from the Latin decem, meaning “ten.” It is the twelfth month. This name has been wrong for over 2,100 years—since the Romans added January and February to the year and pushed December from tenth to twelfth position. No civilization in human history has carried a labeling error for so long, with so little

November comes from the Latin novem, meaning “nine.” It was the ninth month in the original Roman calendar—the one that began in March and had only ten months. When the calendar was reformed, expanded, and politically repurposed, November shifted from ninth to eleventh position, while keeping its original “nine” name intact. By this point in

October comes from the Latin octo, meaning “eight.” It has nothing to do with the number ten, despite being the tenth month in the modern calendar. The oct- prefix is familiar from octopus (eight legs), octagon (eight sides), octave (eight notes)—all of which correctly use the root. October is the outlier. October lies. This is

September comes from the Latin septem, meaning “seven.” It was the seventh month in the original Roman calendar. When January and February were added to the beginning of the year, and July and August were inserted to honor the emperors, September drifted from the seventh position to the ninth—and its name never changed to reflect

August was originally Sextilis—Latin for “the sixth month.” Following Julius Caesar’s precedent, the Roman Senate renamed it to Augustus in 8 BCE to honor the emperor Augustus (Octavian), who had consolidated his power and brought an end to decades of civil war. Among his claimed achievements: he defeated Antony and Cleopatra, and the month had

July was not always July. It was originally Quintilis—Latin for “the fifth month,” because in the old Roman calendar (which began in March), it was indeed the fifth. The name made sense. It was logical. It was transparent. Then Julius Caesar came along. In 44 BCE, after his assassination, the Roman Senate renamed Quintilis to

June comes from the Latin Iunius, named after Juno—the queen of the Roman gods, wife of Jupiter, and goddess of marriage and childbirth. The Romans considered June an auspicious month for weddings, and the name honored their chief goddess accordingly. Two thousand years later, English speakers still use her name without knowing who she was.

May comes from the Latin Maius, traditionally believed to be named after Maia—a Roman goddess of growth and increase. Maia was a relatively obscure figure in the Roman pantheon, associated with the earth and spring fertility. She was not one of the major deities; her month was assigned more by custom and convenience than by