Added 10 October 2026

nones

/nəʊnz/ noun

In Latin: nōnae Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about nones at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The notional first-quarter day of a Roman month, occurring on the 7th day of the four original 31-day months (March, May, Quintilis or July, and October) and on the 5th day of all other months.
The third day before the nones of March is March 5th; the third nones of August is August 3rd; and the third of the nones of November is November 3rd.
The ninth hour after dawn (about 3 pm).
The divine office appointed to the hour.
The Greek monks always listen to their reader recite Psalms 83, 84, and 85 from the Septuagint at nones.

From Latin nōnus (“ninth”). As a day of the Roman calendar, via nōnae (“ninth days”) from the original Roman practice of counting forward to the next full or new crescent moon, the nones' occurrence 8 days before the ides of every month (9 counting inclusively) following the establishment of a fixed calendar, and from the Latin practice of treating most recurring calendrical days as plurals. Some scholars believe the name is a variant of the nundines (nūndinae fēriae (“ninth-day festival”)), the Roman market days held every eight days (9 counting inclusively), which were likely announced for each coming month by the Roman kings on the first-quarter days.