Quote:
Originally posted by tfin
Actualy I want to know who used the word "leap year" first. Was it an adaption from the Julien calander? Is there some Latin or other bassis for the word.
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Yes, it was an adaptation from the Julian calendar.
The Julian calendar, for those who don't know, had a leap day every 4 years. Period. By 1582, this had slipped the calendar by 9 days. That year, September was 9 days shorter by fiat of the Pope in those countries which were Catholic.
At the same time, the beginning of the new year was moved from 25 March to 1 January. This is where the concept of April Fool's Day came from since April used to be the first full month of a new year.
England didn't adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752, by which time 2 more days had slipped in, so September 1752 was 11 days shorter in all British colonies and places which decended from same.
Other groups switched at other times, such as the Russians which did it in 1918.