One of the useful tools in the Ultimate Vocabulary software system is the tracking function. You can see how well you’re doing with your goals to be able to define, use, and spell vocabulary words correctly, and seeing your progress mapped out on an ever-upward curve is one of the best ways to keep motivated in your vocabulary improvement program. If you don’t use this feature regularly, we recommend you check it at least once a month – and if you’re not an Ultimate Vocabulary client yet, you can still keep track of your progress by making a note of the words you’ve learned. A quick and handy way to do that is to take the flash cards you make to help you study words and bundle them together at the end of the month (the ones you’re finished with, anyway). A growing stack of “done!” cards is a visual marker that you can glance at if you’re feeling stuck later that will give you the confidence to keep at your work.

Speaking of time tracking, do you know where the English names for the days of the week came from? Take a look at this vocabulary improvement post for a reminder of those word origins, as well as some hints on how to maximize your study time. The English names for months have similar origins, with many of them tracing their roots back to ancient Greek and Roman gods. For example, January is named after the Roman god Janus, June from the Roman goddess Juno, May for the Greek goddess Maia, and March after Mars, the Roman god of war. The first Roman calendar only had ten months, which is why we have the months of September, October, November, and December (from the Latin numbers for 7, 8, 9, and 10). The calendar we use today was instituted around 45 BCE by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, and his name was given to the month of July; Augustus Caesar took the next month for his own.

Some names of the month are also useful vocabulary words. The adjective august means “awe-inspiring” or “of high birth or social standing.” The verb march means “to walk steadily and rhythmically” and may is generally used as what linguists refer to as a “modal auxiliary verb” to indicate permission or possibility (as in “May I come in?” or “She may be arriving soon”). And there’s a phrase, “to have an April face,” which used to be fairly common when describing a happy, sunny expression. The English composer Thomas Morley wrote a lovely madrigal titled “April is in My Mistress’ Face” back in 1594. Listen to it here, and get ready for another month of vocabulary study!

April is in my mistress’ face,
And July in her eyes hath place;
Within her bosom is September,
But in her heart a cold December.