Origins
August is the emperor's month, the second of the two calendar months that preserve the names of real historical figures rather than gods or numbers.βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ Where July commemorates the man who seized power, August commemorates the man who kept it β and transformed a republic into an empire that would last five centuries.
The month was originally called 'SextΔ«lis' in Latin, meaning 'the sixth' (from 'sextus'), reflecting its position as the sixth month in the old March-starting calendar. It was renamed 'Augustus' in 8 BCE by decree of the Roman Senate, following the precedent set by the renaming of QuΔ«ntΔ«lis to IΕ«lius in honor of Julius Caesar. The emperor Augustus β born Gaius Octavius in 63 BCE, later known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus after his adoption by Caesar, and finally granted the honorific 'Augustus' by the Senate in 27 BCE β chose SextΔ«lis for the honor not because it was his birth month (he was born on September 23) but because it was the month of his greatest triumphs. In August, he had first been elected consul (43 BCE), celebrated three triumphs (29 BCE), conquered Egypt and ended the civil wars (30 BCE), and received the allegiance of the legions on the Janiculum.
The title 'Augustus' was itself a masterstroke of political language. It derived from the Latin verb 'augΔre' (to increase) and the related noun 'augur' (a priest who interpreted divine signs). The word carried connotations of sacred authority, divine favor, and the increase of Roman power β without explicitly claiming divinity, it placed its bearer in a quasi-divine category. The Proto-Indo-European root *hβewg- (to increase) connects 'Augustus' to a wide family of English words: 'augment,' 'augur,' 'inaugurate' (to install with augural rites), 'auction' (a sale where prices increase), and the English adjective 'august' (majestic, venerable).
Development
The popular story that the Senate added a day to August β making it 31 days instead of 30 β so that Augustus's month would not be shorter than Caesar's July is attested by several ancient sources, including Suetonius. According to this account, the extra day was taken from February, reducing it from 29 to 28 days (in non-leap years). However, modern scholars have questioned this narrative. Some argue that the pattern of month-lengths may already have been established by the Julian calendar reform of 46 BCE, and that the ancient sources are offering a folk explanation for a pattern that predated the renaming. The truth is difficult to establish with certainty.
The English word 'August' (as a month name) entered the language in late Old English, borrowed directly from Latin 'Augustus.' The Anglo-Saxon name for this month was 'weodmΕnaΓΎ' (weed-month), a practical agricultural term referring to the abundant growth of weeds in late summer. The immediate adoption of the Latin name, without passing through French, suggests it came into English through the church's liturgical calendar rather than through the Norman Conquest.
The lowercase adjective 'august' (meaning 'inspiring reverence or admiration, majestic') entered English in the mid-seventeenth century from the same Latin source. When we describe a person or institution as 'august,' we are using the same word that was once the exclusive title of the Roman emperor β a remarkable democratization of imperial vocabulary.
Old English Period
August's cultural associations reflect its position at the peak of summer. In agricultural tradition, August is the harvest month β the Anglo-Saxon 'Lammas' (loaf-mass), celebrated on August 1, marked the first wheat harvest and the baking of bread from the new grain. In the modern Western world, August is associated with vacation, leisure, and the last gasp of summer before the school year resumes. In Mediterranean cultures, August is the month of heat, siesta, and the general suspension of business β Italian 'Ferragosto' (August 15, the Feast of the Assumption) marks the apex of the summer holiday season.
The precedent of August and July proved that calendar months could serve as instruments of political power. Later emperors tried repeatedly to follow suit: Tiberius, Nero, Domitian, and Commodus all attempted to rename months after themselves, but none of these renamings outlasted their reigns. Only Caesar and Augustus achieved permanent calendrical immortality, their names embedded so deeply in the world's timekeeping that they are spoken today by billions of people who have never heard of the gens Iulia or the Battle of Actium.