intercalary

American  

[in-tur-kuh-ler-ee, in-ter-kal-uh-ree] / ɪnˈtɜr kəˌlɛr i, ˌɪn tərˈkæl ə ri /

adjective

1. inserted or interpolated in the calendar, as an extra day or month; intercalated.

2. having such an inserted day, month, etc., as a particular year.

3. inserted or introduced between other things or parts; interpolated; interposed.

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intercalary British  

/ ɪnˈtɜːkələrɪ /

adjective

1. (of a day, month, etc) inserted in the calendar

2. (of a particular year) having one or more days inserted

3. inserted, introduced, or interpolated

4. botany growing between the upper branches and the lower branches or bracts on a stem

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercalarily
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of intercalary

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin intercalārius, equivalent to intercal(āre) “to intercalate ” + -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

But all this — this gripping story about the outrages endured on a pre-Civil War Georgia farm — appears only in the intercalary chapters, or “Songs,” as Jeffers calls them.

From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2021

The reflection between Sarat’s private ordeal and the country’s vast, ongoing calamity is sustained by a series of intercalary chapters: excerpts from history books, news reports, memoirs and speeches.

From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2017

By analysing unassembled genomic data we estimated total amounts of 15.4Mb centromeric, 6.0Mb intercalary, and 0.6Mb subtelomeric satellite DNA, as well as 10.0Mb of 18S-5.8S-25S and 5S ribosomal genes.

From Nature • Jan. 22, 2014

Every omission of the intercalary day, which occurs three times in 400 years, will cause the full moons to fall one day later; for example, on the 13th of the month instead of the 12th.

From Our Calendar by Packer, George Nichols

In ordinary years it contains 28 days; but in bissextile or leap year, by the addition of the intercalary day, it consists of 29 days.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various