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An Almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and tabular information often arranged according to the calendar. Astronomical data and various statistics are found in almanacs, such as the times of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, eclipses, hours of full tide, church festivals, and so on. ==Etymology== The etymology of the word is unclear, but there are several theories: *It is suggested the word ''almanac'' derives from a Greek word meaning ''calendar''. However, that word appears only once in antiquity, by Eusebius who quotes Porphyry as to the Coptic Egyptian use of astrological charts ("almenichiaká"). The earliest almanacs were calendars that included agricultural, astronomical, or meteorological data. But it is highly unlikely Roger Bacon received the word from this etymology: "Notwithstanding the suggestive sound and use of this word (of which however the real form is very uncertain), the difficulties of connecting it historically either with the Spanish Arabic manākh, or with med.L. almanach without Arabic intermediation, seem insurmountable."〔Quote from the Oxford English Dictionary〕 *One suggestion is that ''alamanac'' was originally an Arabic word, ''al-manākh'', meaning the climate, this refers to the natural change in weather. In the modern sense too an almanac, or almanakh, is the average weather forecast for a certain period of time that is characterized by relatively stable weather conditions covering a specific area, also called climate. *However, the earliest documented use of the word in any language is in Latin in 1267 by Roger Bacon, where it meant a set of tables detailing movements of heavenly bodies including the moon. *One etymology report says: "The ultimate source of the word is obscure. Its first syllable, al-, and its general relevance to medieval science and technology, strongly suggest an Arabic origin, but no convincing candidate has been found."〔Quote from the book "Word Origins" by John Ayto (2005).〕 *Another report similarly says of Almanac: "First seen in Roger Bacon. Apparently from Spanish Arabic, ''al-manakh'', but this is not an Arabic word (this is not a word found in Arabic texts )....The word remains a puzzle."〔Quote from (''An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'', by Ernest Weekley (1921) ). *Similarly, (''An Etymological Dictionary'' by Walter W. Skeat (1888) ) concludes that the construction of an Arabic source for almanac "is not satisfactory".〕 *The ''New English Dictionary on Historical Principles'' similarly says "the word has no etymon in Arabic" but indirect circumstantial evidence "points to a Spanish Arabic ''al-manākh''".〔"Almanac" in (''New English Dictionary on Historical Principles'' ) (which has an extra "note as to the origin and history of the word ''almanac''").〕 *Aaron Rubin has proposed a theory wherein almanac derives from the Spanish word, 'alma', meaning the soul, which descended from the Latin word, 'anima'. The derivation of almanac from alma is a product of early medieval worldviews that held the celestial bodies to be the divine sources of the vital breath that engendered mortal life. The reason why the proposed Arabic word is speculatively spelled ''al-manākh'' is that the spelling occurred as "almanach" as well as almanac (and Roger Bacon used both spellings). The earliest use of the word was in the context of astronomy calendars. The prestige of the Tables of Toledo and other medieval Arabic astronomy works at the time of the word's emergence in the West, together with the absence of the word in Arabic, suggest it may have been invented in the West, and is pseudo-Arabic. At that time in the West, it would have been prestigious to attach an Arabic appellation to a set of astronomical tables. Also around that time, prompted by that motive, the Latin writer Pseudo-Geber wrote under an Arabic pseudonym. (The later alchemy word alkahest is known to be pseudo-Arabic.) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Almanac」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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