lunar cycle

American  

[loo-ner sahy-kuhl] / ˈlu nər ˈsaɪ kəl /

noun

Astronomy.

1. a cycle of 235 synodic months, very nearly equal to 19 years, after which the new moon occurs on the same day of the year as at the beginning of the cycle with perhaps a shift of one day, depending on the number of leap years in the cycle.

---

Etymology

Origin of lunar cycle

First recorded in 1695–1705

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lunar cycle

However this blue moon comes from an alternative, more traditional definition when the lunar cycle results in any season having four, not three full moons.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2024

The new moon will mark the beginning of the next 29.5-day lunar cycle.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 30, 2023

The most commonly observed fast is Ekadashi, which falls on the 11th day of each lunar cycle as the moon waxes and wanes.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2023

The survival of wild species depends on the variabilities of the natural world — day and night, seasons, the lunar cycle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2022

The astronomical dispute about a lunar cycle for the prediction of Easter either commenced, or became prominent, by the extinction of greater ones, soon after the time of the Nicene Council.

From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I by Smith, David Eugene