Julian calendar

Julian calendar
the calendar established by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., fixing the length of the year at 365 days and at 366 days every fourth year. There are 12 months of 30 or 31 days, except for February (which has 28 days with the exception of every fourth year, or leap year, when it has 29 days). Cf. Gregorian calendar.

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also called  Old Style calendar 
 dating system established by Julius Caesar (Caesar, Julius) as a reform of the Roman republican calendar. By the 40s BC the Roman civic calendar was three months ahead of the solar calendar. Caesar, advised by the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes (Sosigenes Of Alexandria), introduced the Egyptian solar calendar, taking the length of the solar year as 365 1/4 days. The year was divided into 12 months (month), all of which had either 30 or 31 days except February, which contained 28 days in common (365 day) years and 29 in every fourth year (a leap year, of 366 days). Leap years repeated February 23; there was no February 29 in the Julian calendar. To align the civic and solar calendars, Caesar added days to 46 BC, so that it contained 445 days. Because of misunderstandings, the calendar was not established in smooth operation until AD 8.

      Sosigenes had overestimated the length of the year by 11 minutes 14 seconds, and by the mid-1500s the cumulative effect of this error had shifted the dates of the seasons by about 10 days from Caesar's time. Pope Gregory XIII's reform (see Gregorian calendar), proclaimed in 1582, restored the calendar to the seasonal dates of AD 325, an adjustment of 10 days. The Julian calendar has gradually been abandoned since 1582 in favour of the Gregorian calendar. Great Britain changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1752. The Greek (Eastern Orthodoxy) and Russian Orthodox (Russian Orthodox church) Christian churches have continued to use the Julian calendar for their liturgical year.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Julian calendar — Julian Jul ian (?; 277) a. [L. Julianus, fr. Julius. Cf. {July}, {Gillian}.] Relating to, or derived from, Julius C[ae]sar. [1913 Webster] {Julian calendar}, the calendar as adjusted by Julius C[ae]sar, in which the year was made to consist of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Julian calendar — Calendar Cal en*dar, n. [OE. kalender, calender, fr. L. kalendarium an interest or account book (cf. F. calendrier, OF. calendier) fr. L. calendue, kalendae, calends. See {Calends}.] 1. An orderly arrangement of the division of time, adapted to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Julian calendar — n. the calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., in which the ordinary year had 365 days: the months were the same as in the Gregorian, or New Style, calendar now used …   English World dictionary

  • Julian calendar — The Julian calendar began in 45 BC (709 AUC) as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year (known at… …   Wikipedia

  • Julian calendar — Ju|li|an cal|en|dar, the the calendar introduced by ↑Julius Caesar in Rome in 46 BC, that fixed the normal year at 365 days. The ↑Gregorian calendar, the usual calendar used in western countries in modern times, is based on the Julian calendar …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Julian calendar — The calendar instituted by Julius Caesar in 46 B. C., dividing the year into twelve months to consist alternately of thirty and thirty one days, with the exception of February, which was to have twenty nine days in ordinary years and thirty in… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • Julian calendar — the day following 4 October 1582 of the Julian calendar was designated 15 October 1582 of the Gregorian calendar; the 10 days being dropped in order that the vernal equinox would fall on March 21. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • Julian calendar — noun The calendar which was used in the western world before the present day Gregorian calendar. The Julian calendar differed in having all multiple of 4 years as leap years …   Wiktionary

  • Julian calendar — calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Julian calendar — noun the solar calendar introduced in Rome in 46 b.c. by Julius Caesar and slightly modified by Augustus, establishing the 12 month year of 365 days with each 4th year having 366 days and the months having 31 or 30 days except for February • Syn …   Useful english dictionary

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