Definition of BISSEXTILE

bissextile

Meanings

Plural: bissextiles

Adj

  • Having an intercalary day, particularly the quadrennial leap day of the Julian and Gregorian calendars traditionally placed as a "second sixth" day before March 1st.

Noun

  • Synonym of leap year: a year with an intercalary day.

Origin / Etymology

From Latin bisextilis/bissextilis (annus) (“bissextile year”), from bisextus + -ilis, from bis- (“two; twice; doubled”) + sextus (“sixth”) + dies (“day”), from the Julian calendar's original reckoning of its quadrennial intercalary day as a 48-hour February 24, subsequently distinguished as the two separate days of the sixth day before the March calends (ante diem sextum Kalendas Martias) and the "doubled sixth day". (February 24 is now normally understood as five days before the first of March, but was called the sixth by the Romans owing to their inclusive counting of dates. See Roman calendar on Wikipedia.)

Synonyms

leap year

Scrabble Score: 19

bissextile is not valid in Scrabble (US) TWL Dictionary
bissextile is not valid in Scrabble (MW) Merriam-Webster Dictionary
bissextile is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 0

bissextile is not valid in Words With Friends