1300–50; Middle English < Old French < Latin īdūs (feminine plural); replacing Middle English idus < Latin
< Greek, plural of -is, suffix of source or origin. See -id 1
The word ides refers to the middle of certain Roman months, particularly March, May, July, and October. March 15th is the ides of March. The term ides stems from the ancient Roman calendar, marking the midpoint of months. Today, most people know the word from the phrase "Beware the ides of March," which comes from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In the play, a fortune-teller issues this warning to Caesar during events that lead up to his assassination in the Senate.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Accounts, embellished by William Shakespeare, tell how the Roman dictator was stabbed to death by a group of aggrieved senators on the Ides of March - March 15 - in 44 BC.
From Reuters • Jun. 19, 2023
“The Ides of March have come. We launch today,” he wrote on Twitter in announcing the start of the O’Keefe Media Group.
From Washington Times • Mar. 15, 2023
"This is imminent as in next few weeks. As in Beware the Ides of March," he wrote.
From Salon • Mar. 10, 2023
The Washington Post has the biggest, often getting 600 entries with themes like “We Come in Peeps,” “The Ides of Marshmallow” and “Sweety Todd: The Demon Barber of Peep Street.”
From New York Times • Feb. 4, 2023
The Ides of March It was only a matter of time before Caesar’s enemies in the Senate took action.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
