Almanac - Etymology

Etymology

The etymology of the word is unclear, but there are several theories:

The word "almanac" derives from the Greek word almenichiaka, which means "calander." The earliest almanacs were calendars that included agricultural, astronomical, or meteorological data.

• 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.
• 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."
• Another report similarly says of Almanac: "First seen in Roger Bacon. Apparently from Spanish Arabic, al-manakh, but this is not an Arabic word ....The word remains a puzzle."
• 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".

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.)