bissextile year
- noun
- /ˈbɪˌsɛkˌtaɪl jɪr/
- Archaic
:
año bisiesto
- The next bissextile year will occur in 2024, giving February 29 days instead of 28.
Examples
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The next bissextile year will occur in 2028, adding a day to February.
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Traditionally, some cultures observe special customs on the extra day in a bissextile year.
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A bissextile year helps synchronize our calendar with Earth's orbit around the sun.
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2020 was a bissextile year.
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The next bissextile year will be 2024.
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During a bissextile year, we celebrate February 29 with unique events and festivities.
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A bissextile year ensures that our calendar remains accurate with the Earth's orbit around the sun.
Synonyms
5
1.8
A year that happens every four years and has 366 days
A year with an extra day added to February to keep the dates matching the seasons
Surface Forms
Morphology
bissextile + year
The compound depends on the rare, Latin-derived adjective 'bissextile', which is not analytically transparent to a B1 learner and whose meaning ('leap year; year with an extra day in February') cannot be derived from the common word 'year' alone. Because understanding requires prior knowledge of this specific, historical lexical item rather than straightforward composition, the expression is not predictable from its parts for typical learners.
Etymology
The noun bissextile year comes from old Latin words bis (meaning 'twice') and sextus (meaning 'sixth'), because the Romans used to add an extra day by repeating the sixth day before March. So a bissextile year means 'a year with an extra day', the same as a 'leap year'.