Menologies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A record or list pertaining to the lives and deeds of saints, usually organized by calendar days
2. A scholarly compilation that systematically chronicles events or notable occurrences for particular days of the year
3. An anthology focusing on the commemorations and significant actions attributed to saints throughout the church calendar

Etymology: The word "menologies" is simply the plural of "menology," so the story belongs to the singular. The Greek original, "mēnologion" (μηνολόγιον), was built from "mēn," meaning "month," and "logion," a word for an account or record, so the sense is a list arranged by month. That is exactly how these books work: each day of the calendar is paired with the saint or saints commemorated on it, along with accounts of their lives and deeds. Medieval Latin took the Greek term as "mēnologium," and English drew on both routes. Some forms came in partly through the English combining element "meno-" plus the familiar "-ology," meaning "study" or "account," and partly through direct adaptation of the Medieval Latin and Greek words. As a result, "menology" is a doublet of "menologion," "menologium," and "menologe," forms that share a common origin but reached English by different paths.

Synonyms: calendar, menologion