April

Definition

the fourth month of the year, between March and May

View the full definition in the Macmillan Dictionary.

Origin and usage

The noun April comes from classical Latin. It was short for ‘mensis Aprilis’, meaning ‘the month of April’; the origins of the ‘Aprilis’ part are obscure. April has been used in English since the time of Old English.

Examples

The month of April is the time when the signs of spring become overwhelmingly obvious in the UK. The first of the month is April Fool’s Day when people try to fool others into believing something that is not true. Such a trick is known as an April fool, the same term being used for the person who is tricked. As well as being associated with ‘fools’, April is also associated with showers of rain, a connection noted by Chaucer, who sent his pilgrims on their way to Canterbury when the showers of April put an end to the drought of March. Another poet who wrote about April was Robert Browning, who evoked the beauties of an English spring in his poem Home-Thoughts, From Abroad. The sights and sounds of April are more evident than usual this year, as a result of the reduction in traffic of all kinds caused by the Covid-19 lockdown. Many people are observing nature from their homes and posting the sometimes remarkable results online.