History:

Its origin is closely linked to early observations of the seasons and events in the sky.

Think about ancient civilizations, carefully observing the sky. They saw patterns: the Suns path changing, the return of certain stars, and the cycle of planting and harvesting. These patterns showed them that a specific amount of time always passed between these repeating events.

This period, about 365 days, became what we call this name. Early calendars were created to track this cycle, helping communities plan for farming and religious celebrations. Different cultures had their own methods for calculating and dividing this name, but the basic idea was the same: a complete cycle of the Earths journey around the Sun. Over time, adjustments were made to more accurately reflect the solar YEAR, but the core concept of this name as a time unit connected to the Earths orbit has remained.

This names etymology comes from Proto-Germanic ,jǣran and Proto-Indo-European ,yeh₁r-om, both meaning "season." Related words include the German "Jahr" and Greek "ὥρα" (hṓra), which also means "season" or "period of time." Although the modern term refers to a unit of time, this names origins suggest it was originally linked to seasons and natural cycles. Also, some languages count them by referring to a season, like "summers," "winters," or "harvests." For example, the Chinese 年 "this name," originally 秂, is an ideographic compound showing a person carrying wheat, which represents "harvest.".

Description:

A YEAR is a unit of time based on the approximately 365 1/4 days it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. This name is also used for other periods of roughly similar length, like the approximately 354-day cycle of twelve Moon phases, as well as periods loosely related to the calendar or astronomical YEAR, such as the seasonal YEAR, the fiscal YEAR, and the academic YEAR.

In English, the abbreviation for this name is commonly "y" or "yr". The symbol "a" (from Latin: annus) is sometimes used in scientific writing, but its exact duration can vary.

The English version of this name (from West Saxon ġēar and Anglian ġēr) comes from Proto-Germanic ,jǣran. Related words include German Jahr, Old High German jār, Old Norse ár, and Gothic jer, all from the Proto-Indo-European noun ,yeh₁r-om, meaning "YEAR, season". Other related words from the same Proto-Indo-European noun are Avestan yārǝ ("YEAR"), Greek ὥρα (hṓra) ("YEAR, season, period of time," which is where "hour" comes from), Old Church Slavonic jarŭ, and Latin hornus ("of this YEAR").

Several English words come from Latin annus, such as annual, annuity, and anniversary. "Per annum" means "each YEAR," and "annō Dominī" means "in the YEAR of the Lord.".

The Greek word for "YEAR," ἔτος, is related to Latin vetus ("old"), from the PIE word ,wetos- ("YEAR"), which is also preserved in Sanskrit vat-sa-ras ("YEAR") and vat-sa- ("YEARling calf"). The latter is also reflected in Latin vitulus ("bull calf") and English wether ("ram") (Old English weðer, Gothic wiþrus "lamb").