February is the only month in the Gregorian calendar that we don’t pronounce the R in when speaking. Every other month – January, March, April, etc. – has the R sound when we say it out loud. So why is February different?
The Origins and History of February
To understand why we don’t pronounce the R in February, we first need to look at the origins and history of the month’s name.
February is derived from the Latin word “Februarius.” In the Roman calendar, Februarius was the month of purification and was associated with the Februa festival, which occurred on February 15th. The root “februare” means “to purify.”
When the Roman calendar was first created by Romulus around 753 BC, it only had 10 months. The first month was Martius, named after Mars, the Roman god of war. After Martius, the months were Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December.
Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, added January and February to the calendar around 700 BC. February was originally placed after January and before Martius.
The word “February” comes from the adjective “februarius” via the noun “februarius mensis” meaning “month of purification.” Although it’s unclear exactly how it happened, the ‘r’ in “februarius” was eventually dropped when speaking the word aloud in English.
Here is a quick timeline showing the history and origins of the month February:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 753 BC | Romulus creates 10-month Roman calendar beginning with Martius |
| 700 BC | Numa Pompilius adds January and February to Roman calendar |
| 45 BC | Julian calendar introduced with February between January and March |
| 1582 | Gregorian calendar introduced, keeping February in same position |
The Loss of the ‘R’ Sound in February
So how and why did English speakers drop the ‘r’ sound when pronouncing “February” aloud?
Linguists point to a few possible explanations:
- Simplification of the word for ease of speech. Removing the “r” sound made “February” easier and quicker to say.
- Influence from the Anglo-Saxon/Old English term for February – “Solmonath” – which had no /r/ sound.
- Confusion and blending with the Middle English term “Feverell” or “Feveri.” The rolled /r/ blended with the /v/ and became silent over time.
- Assimilation of the consonants, where the /r/ sound became more like the following /y/ sound when spoken quickly.
Of these, the most widely accepted explanation is that the /r/ was simply dropped over time to simplify and quicken pronunciation. Similar simplifications and eliminations of sounds have occurred in other words too, like “February” becoming “Febuary” or “library” becoming “libary.”
Also, when “February” entered the Old English language from Latin, the pronunciation rules and tendencies of Old English may have favored dropping the /r/. This solidified in Middle English and has persisted ever since.
Other Month Name Pronunciations
Looking at other month names can provide some clues as to why February alone lost its ‘r’ sound.
Here are some patterns to note:
- Months ending with -ary or -uary keep their ‘r’ sounds: January, March, April
- Months ending with a vowel and then -r keep it: September, October, November, December
- May and June never had ‘r’ sounds to begin with in English
So words ending with -uary like January, February, and January tend to keep the /y/ sound after the ‘r.’ However, February is unique in that it ends with -ruary instead. The extra /y/ sound after the /r/ may have made it more susceptible to losing the /r/ sound altogether.
When Did February Lose the ‘R’?
Pinpointing exactly when native English speakers dropped the ‘r’ in February is difficult. However, we can look to written records during the Middle English period to get an idea.
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s writings in the late 1300s, February was sometimes spelled as “Feverer”:
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
Bifil that in that seson on a day,
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay
Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
At nyght was come into that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle
In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste.
And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon
That I was of hir felaweshipe anon,
And made forward erly for to ryse,
To take oure wey ther as I yow devyse.
But nathelees, whil I have tyme and space,
Er that I ferther in this tale pace,
Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun
To telle yow al the condicioun
Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,
And whiche they weren, and of what degree,
And eek in what array that they were inne;
And at a knyght than wol I first bigynne.
Here the spelling indicates the ‘r’ was still pronounced in “Feverer.” But by the 1500s, the ‘r’ was commonly silent as evidenced by February’s spelling as “Febrewarie” in texts:
This yere was kyng Henry the viij at his manoure of Richemount, where he kepte the Christmasse tyll Candelmasse, at which season was such excedyng wether of wynd and rayne that men coulde verye scarce travayle abroad, in so muche that the kyng was constrayned of force to prolonge the season till almost the myddes of Febrewarie.
So at some point between Chaucer in the late 1300s and the early 1500s, the ‘r’ in February was dropped in common pronunciation. But exactly when is difficult to pin down in the fluid spelling and dialects of Middle English. It was likely a gradual change over 150-200 years.
Regional Accents and Pronunciations
Modern English speakers typically do not pronounce the ‘r’ in February. But are there any regional accents that still keep the ‘r’ sound?
Research shows there are a few remote accents in England that are more likely to keep the /r/:
- West Country accents in southwest England
- Lancashire accents in northern England
- Certain dialects in Scotland and Ireland
But even in these areas, pronouncing February with an /r/ is becoming increasingly rare and is limited to older generations and isolated communities. The dominant trend in all modern English is to remain silent on the ‘r.’
Outside of the British Isles, English speakers overwhelmingly say “Feb-yoo-eh-ree.” The only exceptions would be speakers intentionally mimicking an older English dialect.
Does This Happen in Other Languages?
The phenomenon of losing consonant sounds in month names occurs in other languages too, though February itself tends to keep its ‘r’ sound.
For example:
- In Italian, the ‘r’ is dropped from settembre (September)
- In Catalan, the ‘r’ is dropped from juliol (July)
- In Portuguese, the ‘r’ in feveriero (February) is usually pronounced
So February is unique in English in having lost its ‘r’ sound. When other languages drop consonants in month names, it’s most often in September where the awkward consonant cluster causes difficulty.
Why Does This Matter?
At first glance, the silent ‘r’ in February may seem like a minor curiosity. But it provides insight into the constantly evolving nature of the English language. It also touches on several important linguistic concepts:
- Etymology – The origins of words and how their pronunciations and meanings change over time.
- Phonology – The sounds and sound patterns within a language.
- Writing vs. Speech – How written forms both reflect and influence speech sounds.
- Language Change – How pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary slowly change in all languages over decades and centuries.
So while it may just seem like a weird quirk of English, the February ‘r’ phenomenon is actually quite enlightening!
How to Remember the Silent ‘R’
Because the silent ‘r’ in February goes against the pronunciation rules of other months, it can be tricky to remember for young students and English learners.
Here are some tips that can help:
- Look for patterns and connections in other words – like “library” and “February” both being spelled with R but pronounced without it.
- Break the word into syllables – “Feb-ru-ar-y” has 4 syllables, with the “ru” sounding like “yoo.”
- Practice saying the month names out loud in order, making February fit with the rhythm and rhyming of the other months ending in -ary.
- Use memory aids like phrases – “Can you borrow money? Feb you ary!”
With practice and awareness, the February exception will become ingrained alongside the other common month name pronunciations.
Conclusion
In summary, February is pronounced without its ‘r’ sound due to a gradual loss of the consonant over the transition from Latin through Old English to Middle English. The most likely cause was simplifying the pronunciation by dropping a difficult consonant. The origins of the word February come from the Latin “februarius,” referring to a time purification. While a few remote English dialects retain the ‘r’ pronunciation, it has become silent in modern standard English. The February exception provides interesting insights into phonological language change over time.