Almanac

== Origin of the phrase==

== Origin of the phrase==

The etymology of ''almanac'' is unresolved. The earliest documented use of the word in something like its current sense is in [[Latin]] in 1267. [[Roger Bacon]] used it to mean a set of tables detailing movements of heavenly bodies including the Moon.

The etymology of ''almanac'' is unclear. The earliest documented use of the word in something like its current sense is in [[Latin]] in 1267. [[Roger Bacon]] used it to mean a set of tables detailing movements of heavenly bodies including the Moon.

It has been suggested that the word ''almanac'' derives from a [[Greek language|Greek]] word meaning ''calendar''.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Almanac|encyclopedia=[[Webster's New World Dictionary]]|page=18|editor-last=Agnes|editor-first=Michael|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York|date=2003|edition=4th|isbn=978-0-7434-7069-8|access-date=30 November 2019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0tSdRTsP4QEC&q=almenichiaka&pg=PA18}} However, that word appears only once in antiquity, by [[Eusebius]] who quotes [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] as to the Coptic Egyptian use of astrological charts (''almenichiaká''). The earliest almanacs were calendars that included agricultural, astronomical, or meteorological data. But it is highly unlikely Roger Bacon received the word from this etymology: "Notwithstanding the suggestive sound and use of this word (of which however the real form is very uncertain), the difficulties of connecting it historically either with the [[Spanish Arabic]] manākh, or with [[Medieval Latin]] {{Lang|la|almanach|italic=no}} without Arabic intermediation, seem insurmountable."[[Oxford English Dictionary]]

It has been suggested that the word ''almanac'' derives from a [[Greek language|Greek]] word meaning ''calendar''.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Almanac|encyclopedia=[[Webster's New World Dictionary]]|page=18|editor-last=Agnes|editor-first=Michael|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York|date=2003|edition=4th|isbn=978-0-7434-7069-8|access-date=30 November 2019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0tSdRTsP4QEC&q=almenichiaka&pg=PA18}} However, that word appears only once in antiquity, by [[Eusebius]] who quotes [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] as to the Coptic Egyptian use of astrological charts (''almenichiaká''). The earliest almanacs were calendars that included agricultural, astronomical, or meteorological data. But it is highly unlikely Roger Bacon received the word from this etymology: "Notwithstanding the suggestive sound and use of this word (of which however the real form is very uncertain), the difficulties of connecting it historically either with the [[Spanish Arabic]] manākh, or with [[Medieval Latin]] {{Lang|la|almanach|italic=no}} without Arabic intermediation, seem insurmountable."[[Oxford English Dictionary]]