Definition
the sixth month of the year, between May and July
View the full definition in the Macmillan Dictionary.
Origin and usage
The month of June is named after Juno, the wife of Jupiter, king of the Roman gods. English borrowed it from Latin and French and it was first used in Old English early in the second millennium.
Examples
June, the sixth month of the year in the western calendar, is the month of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter one in the southern. The month was named by the Romans after Juno, wife of Jupiter and queen of the gods. As well as being queen of the gods, Juno was the goddess of marriage and of Rome and the Roman empire. In the stories of Roman mythology Juno often appears as the wronged and wrathful wife of her philandering husband. June is the first month of summer in the northern hemisphere, whether this is dated from the 21st (astronomical summer) or 1st (meteorological summer). In the southern hemisphere it marks the beginning of winter.
Quotations
“June brings tulips, lilies, roses,/Fills the children’s hand with posies.”
(Sara Coleridge, ‘The Months’)
Related words
solstice, summer, season, calendar
