lunaries

Lunaries refers to things associated with the Moon or its cycles. In practice, the term is most commonly encountered in historical or scholarly writing and is often used to describe calendars or data sets based on the lunar cycle. The plural lunaries is rare in everyday language and may denote several lunar calendars, tables of Moon phases, or collections of lunar data.

In calendar use, a synodic month lasts about 29.53 days. Some cultures employ purely lunar calendars that begin each month with a new Moon and do not attempt to stay aligned with the solar year. Others use lunisolar calendars, which add intercalary months to keep seasons roughly aligned with the solar year.

In literature and historical dictionaries, lunaries can denote works or passages focusing on the Moon, its phases, or related astronomical observations. The term thus covers both practical calendrical systems and more textual or descriptive material related to lunar cycles.

Etymology: lunary derives from Latin luna, meaning Moon. In modern English, lunary is primarily an adjective meaning moon-related; lunaries as a noun form is uncommon and largely found in historical or specialized contexts.

See also: Lunar calendar, Moon phase, Ephemeris, Lunisolar calendar.