Definition
the ninth month of the year, between August and October
View the full definition in the Macmillan Dictionary
Origin and usage
The noun September comes from the Latin ‘September’, from the Latin ‘septem’ meaning seven, as it was the seventh month of the year in the Roman calendar. It has been used in English since the time of Old English.
Examples
September is the month when summer gives way to autumn in the northern hemisphere, and winter to spring in the south. In England and Wales (but not Scotland) it is the time when students return to school after the long summer holidays. This year, when many children and young people have been away from full-time education since March, the return to school will be a strange and unfamiliar one, with measures in place to minimize the risk of outbreaks of Covid-19. These include staggered arrival and leaving times, maintenance of social distancing including in some cases the wearing of masks in shared spaces, and the use of so-called bubbles (meaning 6) to keep different year groups separate.
Quotations
“Warm September brings the fruit, Sportsmen then begin to shoot.”
(Sara Coleridge, The Months)
“But it’s a long, long while from May to December And the days grow short when you reach September.”
(Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson, September Song)
Related words
autumn, calendar, fall
Browse related words in the Macmillan Thesaurus.
