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definitions

almanac

[awl-muh-nak]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR almanac ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an annual publication containing a calendar for the coming year, the times of such events and phenomena as anniversaries, sunrises and sunsets, phases of the moon, tides, etc., and other statistical information and related topics.
a publication containing astronomical or meteorological information, usually including future positions of celestial objects, star magnitudes, and culmination dates of constellations.
an annual reference book of useful and interesting facts relating to countries of the world, sports, entertainment, etc.

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RELATED WORDS

journal, calendar, yearbook, register, chronicle, annual, record, registry, ephemeris

Origin of almanac

1350–1400; Middle English almenak < Medieval Latin almanach < Spanish Arabic al the + manākh calendar < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for almanac

Contemporary Examples of almanac

Historical Examples of almanac

  • He should bring an almanac with him to know when the days go by.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • He showed me an almanac, which had a great circulation in the district.

  • I must positively get an almanac, papa, or I shall make confusion in my dates.

    One Of Them

    Charles James Lever

  • I could as soon compose an almanac as and a clue to this puzzle.

  • He took the Almanac from Timothy Turtle and they both sat down.

    The Tale of Timothy Turtle

    Arthur Scott Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for almanac

almanac

noun

a yearly calendar giving statistical information on events and phenomena, such as the phases of the moon, times of sunrise and sunset, tides, anniversaries, etcAlso (archaic): almanack

Word Origin for almanac

C14: from Medieval Latin almanachus, perhaps from Late Greek almenikhiaka
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for almanac
n.

late 14c., attested in Anglo-Latin from mid-13c., via Old French almanach or Medieval Latin almanachus, of uncertain origin. It is sometimes said to be from a Spanish-Arabic al-manakh "calendar, almanac," but possibly ultimately from Late Greek almenichiakon "calendar," which is said to be of Coptic origin.

This word has been the subject of much speculation. Originally a book of permanent tables of astronomical data; one-year versions, combined with ecclesiastical calendars, date from 16c.; "astrological and weather predictions appear in 16-17th c.; the 'useful statistics' are a modern feature" [OED].

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper