leap year
a year that has an extra day
TRANSLATION
leap year = das Schaltjahr (woerterbuch.info) --- GOOGLE INDEX leap year: approximately 2,400,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The Japanese government has admitted negligence after a LEAP-YEAR computer bug caused widespread disruption.
(BBC News)
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Following a profits warning in March, the company said in April that fourth-quarter same-store sales fell by 0.9%, although, adjusting for the 2004 LEAP YEAR, turnover was slightly higher.
(The Guardian)
(BBC News)
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Following a profits warning in March, the company said in April that fourth-quarter same-store sales fell by 0.9%, although, adjusting for the 2004 LEAP YEAR, turnover was slightly higher.
(The Guardian)
Did you
know?
leap year
noun phrase
- a year that happens every four years and has an extra day on February 29th
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
A leap year is a year in which an extra day is added to the calendar in order to synchronize it with the seasons. Since the tropical year is 365.242190 days long, a leap year must be added roughly once every four years. In a leap year, the extra day, known as a leap day, is added at the end of February, giving it 29 instead of the usual 28 days.
Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules were stricter, women were only allowed to propose marriage on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.
There was a time when English law did not recognise the 29th of February. It had no legal status. People also assumed that traditions would have no status on that day. It was then logical that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unfair custom that only let men propose marriage.
The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who rejected a proposal in a leap year must pay a penalty. This ranged from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.
(source: Wikipedia, About.com)
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Did you know that there was a time when English law did not recognise the leap year day?"
noun phrase
- a year that happens every four years and has an extra day on February 29th
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
A leap year is a year in which an extra day is added to the calendar in order to synchronize it with the seasons. Since the tropical year is 365.242190 days long, a leap year must be added roughly once every four years. In a leap year, the extra day, known as a leap day, is added at the end of February, giving it 29 instead of the usual 28 days.
Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules were stricter, women were only allowed to propose marriage on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.
There was a time when English law did not recognise the 29th of February. It had no legal status. People also assumed that traditions would have no status on that day. It was then logical that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unfair custom that only let men propose marriage.
The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who rejected a proposal in a leap year must pay a penalty. This ranged from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.
(source: Wikipedia, About.com)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Did you know that there was a time when English law did not recognise the leap year day?"
