almanac

views updated May 14 2018

al·ma·nac / ˈôlməˌnak; ˈal-/ (also, esp. in titles, al·ma·nack) • n. an annual calendar containing important dates and statistical information such as astronomical data and tide tables. ∎  an annual handbook containing information of general interest or on a sport or pastime.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

Almanac

views updated Jun 27 2018

Almanac. Especially in China, an annually published lunar calendar containing weather and harvest prognostications, lucky and unlucky days, festival dates and birthdays of the gods, moral maxims, and, most thumbed, a variety of fortune-telling systems. In the West, almanacs were originally connected with astrology, suggesting a rational order in the cosmos.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions JOHN BOWKER

almanac

views updated Jun 27 2018

almanac an annual calendar containing important dates and statistical information such as astronomical data and tide tables. Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes via medieval Latin from Greek, but ultimately is of unknown origin.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

almanac

views updated Jun 27 2018

almanac XIV. — medL. almanac(h) (Roger Bacon, 1267). Its origin remains unknown.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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