Mark Twain once wrote: “This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.” Twain is referring to the first day of April or, as it has come to be known as, April Fool’s Day. While the first day of the fourth month of the year is certain to bring shenanigans and tomfoolery, what is not so certain is the origin of the month’s name.
Prior to the addition of January and February by King Numa Pompilius around 700 BC, April was the second month of the Roman calendar year – March being the first. Around 450 BC, April slipped into the fourth slot and assigned 29 days. With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar by pope Gregory XIIII in 1582, an extra day was added and thus ‘30 days hath April.’
Though April’s derivation is not certain, a common theory is that the name is rooted in the Latin Aprilis which is derived from the Latin aperire meaning “to open” – perhaps a reference to the opening or blossoming of flowers and trees, a common occurrence throughout the month of April. Another theory holds that since months are often named for gods and goddess and since Aphrilis is derived from the Greek “Aphrodite,” one can surmise that the month was named for the Greek goddess of love, whom the Romans called Venus.
Around the 5th century AD, the Anglo-Saxons referred to the month of April as Oster-monath or Eostre-monath, a reference to the goddess Eostre, whose feast occurred during this month. The Venerable Bede, a monk from the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter, believed this gave root to the word Easter – most often observed during the month of April.
Nice…
I gotta tell you guys. You scared the crap out of me. My name is April. I came here this morning to check on a word spelling and landed on the hompepage looking at this GIANT GRAPHIC of my name. In my stupor, I forgot that it was “that time of the year” again for me. Maybe that’s my April Fools joke on me for the day.
nice to know 
I think is also possible that if Aprililis means “top open”, then another “opening” could be for the opening of the year. The first month of the Roman calendar.
I think you have the number in the Pope’s name wrong. If he’s the fourteenth Pope Gregory, he should be written like that: XIV.
I’ve heard it said that in Celtic times April 1st was the New Year’s Day – later anyone (old-fashioned pagan or such) celebrating the advent of a new year on April 1st was considered a fool. An April Fool at that.
In Irish (Gaeilge) Aibreann is the word for April – considering that blíann is the word for year and ab can be used to denote a coming – word or avent. well the jump is small.
To clarify for non-gaélgoers – the genitive case of blíann is bhlían pron; vleen (to rhyme with spleen) – ab-bhlian = of the new year. Older peoples would count the start of the new year from the rebirth of new life – buds, flowers, hens start laying again and so forth. It’s all possible – I just present the case.
HAHAHA first comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i just like april cuz my birthday is april12
My birthday is today…believe it or not I have never heard any April fool jokes at my expense, ever.
my birthday is in April!!!!!!
april hmm idk eighther april
It is supposed to be XIV, but it doesn’t have to be. There were different ways of writing numbers in Rome just as there were different forms of Latin (Vulgar, Classical, and Medieval).
Why is April called “April?”, you ask?
Why do you continue to put the question mark on the wrong side of the quotation marks?
Were he still around William Strunk would scold you, keep you after class, even.
hey misael and alex and caleb
Regardless of how or where the name for the month of April was derived, it is inconsequential to where we are today. Perhaps this day was aptly name the” day of fools” as it has so many of us engaging in this seedless conversation.
Hahahahahaha! Just pulled a prank on my parents. Gave them an “avalanche.” I taped newspaper across the door posts while they were sleeping and filled it with a ton of crinkled paper balls. When my dad opened his door this morning he was greeted by a huge amount of paper falling towards him. 
I love April 1st!!! Gonna play many more pranks before the day is over! Like sticking a piece of paper on someone’s car that says, “Sorry about the dent. Please call this number so that we can swap insurance information.” Put a fake # and name. Then wait for the person to see the note and search in vain for the dent. 
HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY!!!
Gregory XIII changed the Julian calendar.
Whence the name April originates remains a mystery.
Happy Holiday
Thanks for the info
Gregory XIII didn’t change the Julian Calendar – it remains unchanged, we just use his Gregorian Calendar instead of it.
April is my favorite because I celebrate my birthday on this month
april fools.. lol man i love this day because it’s my birthday today
ha
@Christopherina: Why didn’t I think of that idea? Can I borrow you idea about the dent please?
wow. doesnt anyone ever wonder who does all the research every day for dictionary.com? lol, they put the coolest stuff on here
lol. That’s hilarious “Chris…”! I turned the shower head out so that someone would get sprayed! lol!
lol. That’s hilarious “Chris…”! I turned the showe head out so that someone would get sprayed! lol!
hi mi birthday is n april
[...] “APRIL is the cruelest Month”. — T.S.Elliot — “Waste Land”; ‘Much ado about nothing”, Willie Shakespeare and related, there’s John Locke. — The baseball season opens and distractions Eat the clock. — We’re more than just an April Fool; We’re Foolish all year long. — The Predicament of being Chirpy always haunts us right or wrong. –>>Rupert L.T.Rhyme [...]
my birthday`s April 3rd.
I ♥ April, ’cause it a summer vacation!
man im just sitting here in class and this sucks. so i think its pretty cool thats why its called april
no, he’s right. it should be XIV . if you’re not going to abide by that you might as well make it IIIIIIIIIIIIII
aprils the start of spring! so itz alwayz gud
Coool
I love this kind of stuff.Its interesting.
Try this prank even though it sounds stupid:
When your done using the bathroom, go get a pen,write on the toilet paper thats still there,”Help! Im stuck in a tiolet paper factory!”
I got like half my office where I work with it,everyone was laughing.
Kool I nevr new tat
“April is the cooolest month”
My birthday is in this month too. Thank you people for doing April. That’s really cool. My April Fools contribution is this: when I was at school today, the people who pulled pranks the most were the teachers! Oh, by the way, your house is on fire.
Ha ha!
Happy April Fools Day!
Happy post-April Fools Day! No more people annoying you with April Fools jokes!
@ Bob Beazley,
That’s not the “wrong side” it’s actually the correct way to do it.
=D My birthday is this month!
Aww… I’ll be a teenager. =’( The innocence of childhood shall soon depart me.
Hey Elizabeth my house is on fire TOO!
Haha
Ariel honour to ponder this
This is a puzzle not to miss
This month’s etymology
Hints vaguely at astrology
“… since months are often named for god(desse)s
and Aphrilis is derived from the Greek “Aphrodite,”
one can surmise that the month was named for the Greek goddess of love,
whom the Romans called Venus.”
So —
if the Romans decided to name the month after their goddess of love, Venus,
— would we now be in the month of “Venal”?
Be sure to look up the meaning of “Venal”, okay guys?
daughter was born in May, but named her April… as a nod to the Awesome Creator for the new life (her’s) He blessed us with, and in gratitude to all the new life He sends us all, every year during that month, when He blesses the earth with so much new life as seen with Spring bringing forth all the new birds, and buds, and growth in gardens during that month…. check it out yourself… April 27 is usually THE most beautiful day as far as the vividness of color found in nature here on Long Island. God is SO incredible!!
me too…my birthday is in this monat…my mother knows only….
ach…schon vorbei…ende maerz…ach…the differences between the great solar und moonlar calendar system…about one month later….
let’s see….today i had a track meet but did not PR for the heat was intense. I also got a pink eye right after my first race. yeah, April fools is right
I just love April. Playing pranks on someone is kinda fun, which reminds me of the time my classmates in sixth grade scribbled on a different classroom’s window while they were out for PE. The janitor got upset and all, but they never got in trouble. I also like April because there’s spring brak.
My birthday is April 1 and that’s no foolin’.
My birthday is on April 5th! So close, it’s this Tuesday!!!!!! HOORRRAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My birthday is on April 27th.
My birthday is on April 5th, this Tuesday. HOOORRAYYYY!!!!!! ITS SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is april & it’s just a month for my birthday
Ive known that Birthdays on April is the least common so Im a half lucky guy since im born on April 30th
Here’s a good one. Hold your umbrella up, and people will think it’s raining and copy you. Then say “April Fools” to the first person to do that.
Or stick a five-cent coin to the ground with super glue. Someone will try to pick it up, no doubt. Then they’ll look weird trying to pick it up when it won’t budge. If you’re watching, then say “April Fools” to them. Honestly, people care a lot about five cents.
This year, my April Fools trick was telling people their shoelaces were undone. Literally, you’ll never believe how many people actually fell for it!
According to something I read, April Fools’ Day actually originated from when April was the first month of the year, thus making April 1 New Year’s Day. When the calendar changed so that January 1 was first instead, people would call anyone who had forgotten an “April Fool”.
Interesting. I liked it, Hot Word. Sadly, my birthday is in September, not April. Speaking of September, did you know that the most popular birthday month is September?
Keep up the fantastic articles, Hot Word!
Melody
lucky me to have found this interesting topic, since my birthday falls on April too. I never knew how special April is…thanks.
I like April because it is the name of my right bicep. The left one is called Jupiter.
I luv April b’cuz my birthday falls on 11th. Come and celebrate with me. Cheers luv u all happy April fool.
Nice…..
Nice
theres is an explanation.If u want to know what it is, ask me!!!
i love april because my husbands birthday is on april 14th
I must have just climbed out of a cave. I never thought to look into these new things dictionary.com started to do. This is cool. Only thing is that it sometimes distracts me from the reason I came here in the first place… to get a definition or spelling of a word. But, I think I’ll just scoot in here more often just to see what new kind of stuff turns up. But, just a quick comment. It would really be nice if the dictionary staff here would have a “service” like Google which, if you misspell a word, they will suggests some possible alternatives. But, hey… I love it anyway! Thanks, dictionary.com.
These are the dumbest comments I’ve ever read.
[...] Why is April called ” April ” ? The answer is…… [...]
Great article! pope Gregory XIIII should actually be pope Gregory XIV
At one time in history, the year began in spring – makes more sense than beginning a year in the dead, cold winter. Perhaps the most reasonable answer is obvious if Latin “aperire” — “to open” meant both the flowers and the year.
Aphrodite Rox!
Check out any clock or watch with roman #’s and you will see that 4 is represented by IIII almost every time. This is especially true of antiques. According to W.I. Milham,in Time & Timekeepers (New York: Macmillan, 1947) p. 196 King Louis the 14th prefered IIII to IV and ordered his clockmakers to produce clock faces that way and it seems to have stuck. Many building built at the turn of the last century varied the use of Roman numerals. One example is the cornerstone on Harvard Medical School’s Gordon Hall, which reads MDCCCCIIII for 1904.
Why no mention of Julius and Augustus, and poor February’s loss? A year is a year: give the whole story
i wet mi bros toothbrush then put salt on it!!!!!!!!! lol!
My bdays in thing aswell, that’s legit..
I need some music to go with this nice weather.
@COOOOL
lmaoo,ikr!
@miranda…
i dont get it….
April is the coolest month because it’s the start of autumn… In Australia!!! yeye
this is cool, i came to this page to look up a word and saw my name plastered in giant letters on the home page. I think i like the greek goddess of love theory best. my birthday is this month too. so im excited to be 14 finally
I fail to see how this is considered revealing, considering the fact that the name ‘April’ is still shrouded in mystery.
tick tock… oh rite i wz raeding the thingy up here… kinda boring i must admit… lolz jk very interesting…
cooolllll!!!!!!:D
@DYLAN Happy Birthday!:)
i dont get why they do prank jokes 
Never mind. I love April. I was born on April 5.
Could have mentioned this is why all the months September through December have roots that mean 7 to 10, but became the months 9 through 12 …
@Cooool:
In that case, I suppose you probably don’t read much at all, huh?
We has obviously overlooked the most important aspect of April. It is the usual (not always) opening day of the baseball season, a time of new beginnings, of hope springing eternal, a time to look to the joys of summer with the boys of summer, all teams are tied for first place for a day, life is worth living.
mines today! april 3
Ok, 15 Bubbles, how are you with this:
Why is April called “April?” when there were so many other possibilities?
haha perry lolz
Nobody suggested that it might be named after Apis, the Egyptian bull god who at one point represented new life? Perhaps it is because he is sometimes referred to as Hapis, or just Hap.
You can blame Asterix for this one, actually. I will never forget the comic where the hypnotist ends up hypnotising himself to believe he is a boar, and he runs off into the forest, hahaha. “By Osiris and by Apis, you are a boar!”
WOW!!!!!!!! INTERESTING INFO ABT ‘APRIL’….NICE YAAR….
Maaaannnnnnnnnnnn is the place getting hot or is it just me!
Seeing as the German word for Easter in “Ostern”, I guess The Venerable Bede probably got it right – it’s just a pagan festival, albeit with quite a lot to be said in its favour, that was hijacked by Christianity.
And congrats to all those with birthdays in April – you must be pretty proud of your uniqueness!
@ Jayc, Amen to that.
Im born in April 7
and my name is April
No fake!!!
Ooh the first comment..!!!
LOL
My name is April and my Birthday is April 23rd. Go figure.
Wow. back then in 700 A.D people could change months like that ? It must have been very confusing for some people.
@15bubbles:
No, Bob is right. Here are the basic rules for punctuation in American English when quotations are involved:
• Periods and commas always go inside the quotation marks.
• Question marks and exclamation points go inside only if they’re punctuating the quotation.
• Semicolons and colons always go outside.
There isn’t a such thing as a seedless conversation, juan reese. There are many things to learn from conversation whether there is a predetermined goal or not. Conversation in and of itself yields a harvest of language, which is an amazing thing. Now one that exposes his own insecurities by using words to seperate himself from people and sociality….is seedless. But is it? For now we know there is insecurity.
Live, Love, and Laugh Juan. Live, Love, and Laugh!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY APRIL BABIES!!!!! It is a pretty cool month, my best gift from God came on the 11th of April almost 13 years ago. He’s a great kid!
I THINK THIS IS SUM KRAZY STUFF
ughhh !* are ya’ll really doing this right now ????
My birthday is april 6 this wednesday!
Myy Birthdayy is on April 6 wednesday i’ll be (19)
That article didnt really explain why April is called”April”
Aries the ram is first sign of the zodiac and the first of the “new” year from late march to late April – when nature springs back to life – lol x
kool i learned something new i didnt know that the greeks goddess of llove was called “Aphrodite” that so cute very nice name and my moms bday is one the 26th and my bros is on the 14 i have to big bdays this month so cooool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I tend to agree with Peter O’conor I think…
My name is April and i was born in April. My mother was supposed to be named April but she was born 2 months early so my grandmother named her Patricia. My grandmother was born on st. pa tricks day and they called her Patricia. It is weird how we got each others name. If my grandmother were to know that in the old days April was the second month then maybe she could have went ahead and named her April. But It’s better this way because now I can party all month long and I celebrate April to it’s fullest, Because I I I I I CAN!
danqq am boredd here at 5th periodd . , . :l
hahaha ya’llfunny
Hey,Greg…my mom’s birthday is on the same day,buddy!
very useful
happy april!!!!
THIS IS A GREAT THING TO READ AND IT ALSO EDUCATE YOU
my b-day is april 7th =D
Loved the article. It was very informative and I also liked it cause my birthday is also in April…and yes my birthday is 4-20…
HELLO THUR WORLD. My birthday is today(:! Hahaaaa . . . just kidding . . . . it’s in September:3! I FOOLED YOU, HA! April Fool’s(;
hahahaha you people crack me up, (‘=
i sent my friends emails saying i was moving-they all fell for it! then i sent another one to my other friend saying i was mad at him for being a jerk…….LOL he didnt fall for that one!
happy belated april fools!!!
this article is like…BAZAR
Hm, this is interesting! It must have been really odd to change months like that; imagine how weird it’d be if they added a new month in modern times! And to the person who said that, “These are the dumbest comments I’ve read.” I think they’re just fine. Finally an article where no one is pushing their beliefs and views on one another.
Ahhh, can’t wait for April vacation. A few steps closer until our 8th grade class trip…and a short reprieve from any homework.
Happy April everyone!
my birthdays april 5th..thats tommorow
my birthday is in april and my name is april… way to get creative mom and dad.
Good to know and April means to lalalalalalalalalallaalalalalalalalalaalalalala
(obviously the person that made this comment is probably 6 years old rofl)
how dumb is naming a kid born on May, April?
Pope Gregory the Thirteenth, or XIII, was the one to institute the Gregorian calendar. The extra I in the script was just a typo
eyyyy!!!!!
woot! im glad there was an article centered on April!
Im excited to see the people who have commented on this post on April 4th as this is MY BIRTHDAY! Shouts out to all the april birthdays out there xo
especially jamie mr 420
nice
First, why has no one corrected the blatant error that Gregory XIII (yes it was the 13th and not the 14th) did not add a day to April? Thirty days for April was set by the Julian reform of the calendar, which, by the way, gave us the name of the Julian Calendar. Gregory XIII, after which our Gregorian calendar is named, simply did two things to reform the calendar. Namely, he took away 10 days from October to align the Spring equinox back with the approximate date of March 21, which was where the equinox approximately was when the Council of Nicea determined practices for establishing the date of Easter. Secondly, he adjusted the calendar (previously know as the Julian Calendar) to not have a leap day on 3 of the 4 century years: 1600 was a leap year, but not 1700, 1800 or 1900, and the same with 2000, which was a leap year, but not 2100, 2200 or 2300, etc. He did this so that the equinox would not slip backwards as it had previously done during the 1250 years between the Council and 1582. I do admit there were some other changes with regard to the calculation of Easter, so in all honesty there were more than two changes; but those do not pertain to the ordinary civil calendar we use, so I will not go into detail with that.
Just to clarify, when I say that Gregory dropped 10 days from October, I meant that he did that for only that one year: Oct. 5 became Oct. 15 in that year, such that the day after Oct. 4 in 1582 in Rome and the Papal States was Oct. 15. Other countries adopted the Gregorian Calendar in different years and some dropped the needed dates in other months during the years they adopted the reformed calendar. Also to clarify, when I say 1250 years between the Council and 1582, I was using an approximate number. The actual number would be 1582 – 325 = 1257 years.
April 21st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A girl named April got her name
For a month that people called the same.
The month won over this title fought
For reasons we have long forgot.
1.think of your crush
2.make a heart with your hands
3.then kiss your hand while still making the heart
4.then put the heart where your real heart is
5.tomorrow your crush will ask you out
6.this will only work if u post this on your favorite article
my burffdays in september lolol
Wow. April means to open up. It is true I often do see more flowers blossom when its sunny in April and my birthdays APRIL 10. Not to far away. 15 here I come .
i think its pope Gergory XII
today my birthday……..now only i came to know the speciality of april month,,,,, really i feel proud for born tis month
I have a friend born on April Fools Day and I am also an April baby. It is so nice to know why my month is called what it is!
I couldn’t find it an interesting story but I like April because VISAKHI [a Punjabi festival ] is celebrated in this month.
My name is April, I own the month and allow myself to continue to pull “April Fool’s Day” jokes on everyone. The best thing about “April” is that on April I had a life saving surgery. I was told I would have a 30% chance to live, and then I’d probably need a transplant on my heart and lung. I had an “AVM”. That is where blood vessels that form together with main arteries and turn into an anyurisim and can burst at anytime, without warning and you die immediatley. Fortunetily, even having it for 5 yrs, a radiologist saved my life and called a large hospital in the state next to mine.The heart transplant surgeon and pulmonogist would be able to try it. I wrote goodby letters to my two young daughters and told them to be well and happy in life. I will send you messages in the real world if I can when I die.
I was stunned to see myself young, alive, and thrilled to have another chance with life. The sealed letters are sealed and I did not have to have someone give them those letters. My oldest was 8 yrs and the youngest was 4. That is why the month of “April”. is so special.
i love april because its my birthday on april 7
Could it be possibly with reference to the coming of spring AFTER (APRES) winter?
In Spanish …..Abrir = to open
i just like april cuz this tha month i get outa prison
I heav been esplorin thees subjeect for sum tyme end to kno aveil. Thans for thee halp.
My name is April and I was born on April 8th and my parents celebrated their 35th anniversary on April 2nd. So this month has tremendous meaning for us!
for those wondering why “4″ is sometimes written as “IIII” instead of “IV”, in the roman numeral system, I suggest they visit the link below and be enlightened.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_numerals
Why does everybody keep spelling everything wrong? Pu-leez! This is a DICTIONARY, for the love of Pete (whoever he may be)!
Oh, and I like Phineas & Ferb too, Perrytheplatypus.
Like MUGZ and ABDUL wrote — In Spanish: Abrir = to open / Latin: aperire = open or unveil. Perhaps the opening or unveiling of a new season.
I LOVE APIL. Because it’s my papaws birthday and it’s spring sweeeeeeeeeeeet
I enjoy following the original sacred calendar, which the Biblical scriptures mention. ABIB…
Nice to know my ablest brother on that mouth
Nice to know my ablest brother on that mouth
By the way this is Kayla Mullins
But I really don’t get it why do they call it April
Kayla Mullins
Why do they call it April
The tenth is my birthday
I like April because it’s when the trees grow, flowers bloom, birds sings, animals hunt, weather reaction, and April is a name! ^_^
Can somebody tell me some really cool April fools prank? I wanna do it on somebody and see what they think.
omg good facts
aaaaaappppppppprrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiillllllllllll…………
………. is awsom
like me
just like this guy, smiley face (I don`t know how 2 actually put 1.)
Todays my birthday! I just happened to land on this page when I was looking up stems. I love April
If there is someone born on April 29, will he celebrate his birthday every four years or how?
Aprilis / aperire meaning “to open” , besides signifying the beginning of the new year (spring, flowers, life), could also mean the ‘opening’ of the astrological signs. Aries which falls in March/April is the first sign in Astrology.
To Arif Bahrami: February is the month that has 29 days every four years. April has 30 days every year.
@Arif Bahrami You idiot, that’s only in February!
The suggestion that ‘April’ might refer to the opening of the year resonated with me, which would imply that the month of Mars was a later insertion – but I haven’t found any historical evidence to support this.
you have a b day every year I am not lucky I was born on march 27
“Aprilis / aperire meaning “to open” – see Harriet below:
If you research the reason for April Fool’s, you will find that it originated with the changing of the date of the ‘New Year’. That being established, if Harriet is correct (I don’t do Latin.) one would speculate that the month was so named for its Latin root (e.g. the “opening” of the year).
Gregory XIIII is written incorrectly. It should read XIV .
The French pronunciation is Avril.
The ancient Babylonian month of AV which is in the summer, (and counted as the 5′th from Nissan the 1st which is the beginning of spring)
In Hebrew and Aramaic it means father (Abba like Papa)
The B and P are exchangeable in Semitic languages. (In the bible Parzel and Barzel are used for metals. In Arabic, B is used instead of P – as in: “Blease bass me a biece of bizza”. Also B and V interchange. (And P with F. The letter Bet – ancient ‘B’ as in Alephabet, which meant house or female) would be read at the beginning of a word as B but in the middle as V. It is so today in modern Hebrew as well. Same with P and F.
In Aramaic – and possibly Babylonian too – the root A.B.R or A.V.R which may stand for April means to go OVER, and also PREgnancy. It is also used in Hebrew for that meaning, and specifically in the Jewish calendar, where the last month of Addar may become meUBAR, for an extra 13′th lunar month – usually around April time.
OK. It took me a while to read this, but it is interesting.
For us in Australia, April is actually Autumn! How about that?!
My birthday is in June, so that is in winter. boo.
hmm so april hmmmm i declare idk bye random comment on random site #123
My birthday is this saturday!!!
you guy need to know that April is awsome
HEY! MOSHE I AM FROM ETHOPIA AND I SPIKE AMARIC ! LET ME GIVE YOU A SAMPLE WORD “DENANESH” ARE YOU ETHOPIAN?
For my April Fools Day this year, I prank called my mum with my phone and used a American tourist trying to fit in accent ( I’m from London ). I told her that I had found this phone on a bench in the mall right after a hot couple had kissed, but I didn’t find them afterword and could she pick it up and return it to whoever…….. IT WORKED !!!!!!!!
APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!! I never did that…….
My birthday is april 19
This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.” Twain is referring to the first day of April or, as it has come to be known as, April Fool’s Day. While the first day of the fourth month of the year is certain to bring shenanigans and tomfoolery, what is not so certain is the origin of the month’s name.
Prior to the addition of January and February by King Numa Pompilius around 700 BC, April was the second month of the Roman calendar year – March being the first. Around 450 BC, April slipped into the fourth slot and assigned 29 days. With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar by pope Gregory XIIII in 1582, an extra day was added and thus ‘30 days hath April.’
Though April’s derivation is not certain, a common theory is that the name is rooted in the Latin Aprilis which is derived from the Latin aperire meaning “to open” – perhaps a reference to the opening or blossoming of flowers and trees, a common occurrence throughout the month of April. Another theory holds that since months are often named for gods and goddess and since Aphrilis is derived from the Greek “Aphrodite,” one can surmise that the month was named for the Greek goddess of love, whom the Romans called Venus.
Around the 5th century AD, the Anglo-Saxons referred to the month of April as Oster-monath or Eostre-monath, a reference to the goddess Eostre, whose feast occurred during this month. The Venerable Bede, a monk from the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter, believed this gave root to the word Easter – most often observed during the month of April.
Windermere broker buys out partners this web site windermere real estate
Journal of Business October 20, 2011 | McLean, Mike Real estate broker Joe Garst says he has bought out the minority interests in the Windermere franchise north of downtown and is now its sole owner.
The franchise, which does business as Windermere Real Estate/City Group LLC, occupies about 4,000 square feet of leased space, which is most of the first floor of a three-story building at 908 N. Howard, across Howard from the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.
Windermere Real Estate/City Group has 23 agents and is growing, Garst says.
He says he first bought into the franchise in 2008 and recently acquired the remaining interest from former partners and longtime owners Randy Wells and Ric Lake.
The brokerage handles mostly residential properties, says Garst, who has been in the real estate business nine years, having managed another Windermere office before becoming a principal in Windermere Real Estate/City Group. in our site windermere real estate
Other Windermere franchise offices in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene market are located in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Deer Park, Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, and Hayden, Idaho.
McLean, Mike
Author: Hot Word | Posted in etymology | Tags: Aphrodite, April, April Fool’s Day, Mark Twain
Read more at http://hotword.dictionary.com/april/#v0mp2dXjWI4ZgzFm.99
My math teacher’s birthday is April 6, and she likes to spread her birthday parties all over April And her name is April.(such a nice name!)
Quelqu’un peut me dire quelque vraiment cool Avril fous blague? Je veux le faire sur quelqu’un et voir ce qu’ils en pensent.
I did not get fooledon april fools day becouse i fooled other people
my friend fooled my sister by putting afake aligater by the door i took pics it was amazing
December is the best month!!!!!!!!!
thanks
yOU PEOPLE THINK YOUR SO COOL…MY BIRTHDAY IS aPRIL AND MY NAME IS APRIL BEAT THAT!
I LOVE YOU ALL!
My daddy’s birthday was on April 2nd!
The information is weird, and sorta hard to understand. But anyway, my bday is tomorrow. ( see comment above)
April sucks July ROCKS!!!!!!!!
nice to know thanks for this ,because my teacher asked me to find why april is known as april?thanks a lot…………………….
what is this? I don’t know.
whenever i tell someone about my birthday they never believe me (my birthday is on April 1st).
MY NAME IS APRIL.
enlightening!
This story was very interesting and December is the best month ever whoooooo!!!!!!
My Birthday is on April 24
why is april called april i want to know
same here
x
that is very cool. You have changed the way I think about April.
I was born on April 01, 1984. My friends and colleagues always say “No wonder why you’re like that”. LOL!
Omg guyzz, dis article waz rited about me because i was birfed in may witch iz just after apriI!!!!1 lolololololol
Seriously, I wandered into the comments section hoping for some meaningful discourse, this being a language based website…. Now I feel like killing myself. Has humanity come to this? Seriously? There must be at least fifty people wishing themselves a happy birthday, 20 incredibly unimaginative prank ideas, most of them posted on the 2nd or after, and the rest seem to be amazed how easy it is to smash their face into the keyboard to make black squiggles appear on the screen. The best use of the English language is by a 12 year old girl, and I only know she was twelve at the time because she mentioned it was her birthday.
I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.
Good to know even though my birthday is in July.
i am rampages evil brother evil juice jk i am the same guy who wrote the comment ”this story was very interesting and december is the best month” anyway nice story. owe, and boswell or who ever wrote that comment, QUIT YOUR JIBBERISH about what planet do we live on, thats not funny and your not funny. so stop boswell for the last time your not funny!!!!!!!!!!
The Gaelic explanation seems very plausible; can anyone validate it? Perhaps it was a joke…
Boswell, before you pack up for extraterrestrial adventures, you might consider that 1) people all over the world use English as a second language and this website is an English language-based learning & reference resource used by many non-native speakers, and 2) lots of parents out there give four-, five-, six-year-old kids access to the internet in some form, so that many children know how to type before they know how to spell.
Talking to people on the internet is just like doing so in real life, except that you don’t know who you’re talking to, or what their emotional state is unless they add emoticons. Be nice.
….Come to think of it, we don’t always know whom we’re talking to in real life, either. Yes; be nice.
April is derived from the ancient Etruscan – Apru – and thus is Etruscan for the goddess Aphrodite. Borrowed into Latin as Aprilis.
By the France
hi
Iambeast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
omg. my name is april too and my birthday is on april27! which is tomorrow. i think im lucky for myself
@Boswell
Your comment amuses me and I’m sorry that you beat me to it. However, though I know you were kidding, you shouldn’t kill yourself. After all, there is some intelligent life on this planet, but if you do plan to leave the planet, you should at least invite all the intelligent people to come with you.
@Dictionary.com
An updated April blog would be nice. All things considered, there have been a few theories posted here that would make lovely implementations to a newer entry. Two years is a long time to go without introducing notions from others.
Since I saw posts about the Gregorian calendar, I thought it would be nice to mention that there are 11 days missing from September in 1752. Just planting a seed for research there.
This is very interesting to read. My sister’s name is April and now she is researching all she can to find out how her name got started. I’m kinda curious to find out when the season of fall was first called Autumn.
i like april because the birthstone is diamond, a very presious stone which is used for many,many things my b-day falls on the 19th
I am so cool
It’s not April fool’s day. Butter haters.
thanks 4 ur help
you are not cool barbie
My birthday is today! the 30th! and my name is April! APRIL iS BOSS
this is interesting
This is so LOL
This is such an interesting fact
are you all american?
no were african
Cant believe i am the first one to comment.. i quess because my birthday is in this month it is kinda lucky for me ..