Nivôse
/nɪˈvoʊz/noun
The fourth month of the French Republican calendar, corresponding approximately to late December through late January.
Did you know?Nivôse was created during the French Revolution as part of a calendar designed to replace Christian month names with seasonal, agricultural, and natural imagery.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sneygʷʰ-
“Snow; to snow”
Ancient Latin
Latin
nix, nivis
“Snow”
Classical Latin
Latin
nivosus
“Snowy or full of snow”
1793
French
Nivôse
“The “snowy” month in the French Republican calendar”
19th Century
English
Nivose
“The fourth month of the French Republican calendar”
Modern English
English
Nivose
“A historical name for the French Republican calendar month corresponding roughly to December–January”