o occurs. This makes me suspect some other origin,
probably local, for Munday, the more so as Fr. Dimanche, Demange,
etc., is often for the personal name Dominicus, the etymology
remaining the same as that of the day-name, the Lord's day. Parts of
the day seem to survive in Noon, Eve, and Morrow, but Noon is local,
Fr. Noyon (cf. Moon, earlier Mohun, from Moyon), Eve is the mother of
mankind, and Morrow is for moor-wro, the second element being Mid.
Eng. wra, comer, whence Wray.

MONTH NAMES

We find the same difficulty with the names of the months. Several of
these are represented in French, but our March has four other origins,
from March in Cambridgeshire, from march, a boundary, from marsh, or
from Mark; while May means in Mid. English a maiden (Chapter XXI), and
is also a dim. of Matthew (Chapter IX). The names of the seasons also
present difficulty. Spring usually corresponds to Fr. La Fontaine
(Chapter II), but we find also Lent, the old name for the season, and
French has Printemps. [Footnote: The cognate Ger. Lenz is fairly
common, hence the frequency of Lent in America.] Summer and Winter
[Footnote: Winter was one of Hereward's most faithful comrades.] are
found very early as nicknames, as are also Frost and Snow; but why
always Summers or Somers with s and Winter without? [Footnote: Two
other common nicknames were Flint and Steel.] The latter has no doubt
in many cases absorbed Vinter, vintner (Chapter III) but this will not
account for the complete absence of genitive forms. And what has
become of the other season? We should not expect to find the learned
word "autumn," but neither Fall nor Harvest, the true English
equivalents, are at all common as surnames.

I regard this group, viz. days, months, seasons, as one of the least
clearly accounted for in our nomenclature, and cannot help thinking
that the more copious examples which we find in French and German are
largely distorted forms due to the imitative instinct, or are
susceptible of other explanations. This is certainly true in some
cases, e.g. Fr. Mars is the regular French development of Medardus, a
saint to whom a well-known Parisian church is dedicated; and the
relationship of Janvier to Janus may be via the Late Lat. januarius,
for janitor, a doorkeeper.

[Footnote: Medardus was the saint who, according to Ingoldsby, lived
largely on oysters obtained by the Red Sea shore. At his church in
Paris were performed the 'miracles' of