Tag archives: intercalary day

What gets leapt in a leap year?

2012 is a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, making it an appropriate time to consider the origin of this rather puzzling term. After all, leap implies that something is being skipped over, but a leap year has an extra day, making it longer than an ordinary year, not shorter. Where is the metaphorical leap [...]

Posted on: February 29 2012 | Posted by: | Comments: 3 | Categories: Dictionaries and lexicography, Word origins | Tags: , , , , , ,