An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar. Astronomical data and various statistics are also found in almanacs, such as the times of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, eclipses, hours of full tide, stated festivals of churches, terms of courts, lists of all types, timelines, and more.
The etymology of "al...
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An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar. Astronomical data and various statistics are also found in almanacs, such as the times of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, eclipses, hours of full tide, stated festivals of churches, terms of courts, lists of all types, timelines, and more.
The etymology of "almanac" is hazy. It was borrowed into English from Old French almanach or Medieval Latin almanachus, from the Spanish-Arabic word al-manakh "calendar, almanac", citing the "Kitab al-Manakh," a 13th century publication by eminent Moroccan scholar, mathematician and astronomer, Ibn al-Banna al-Marrakushi. This word is probably from Late Greek almenichiakon "calendar", akin to Patristic Greek almenichiata, "the supernatural rulers of the celestial bodies", from Coptic. However, the ultimate origin of the word is unknown. The Arabic manah, "to...
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