JULY, the seventh month of the year; during
which the sun enters the sign Leo. The word is de-
rived from the Latin Julius, the surname of C. Cæsar,
the dictator, who was born in it. Mark Antony first
gave this month the name July, which before was call-
ed Quintilis, as being the fifth month of the year in
the
the old Roman kalendar established by Romulus, which began in the month of March. For the same reason, August was called Sextilis; and September, October, November, and December, still retain the name of their first rank.
Que sequitur, numero turba notata suo. OVID. Fast.
On the 19th day of this month the dog-days are commonly supposed to begin; when, according to Hippocrates and Pliny, the sea boils, wine turns sour, dogs go mad, the bile is increased and irritated, and all animals decline and languish.
July-Flowers. See DIANTHUS.