a book or table, containing a calendar of days and months, the rising and setting of the sun, the age of the moon, the eclipses of both luminaries, &c.—Authors are divided with regard to the etymology of the word; some deriving it from the Arabic particle al and manouch, to count; some from almanach, new-years gifts, because the Arabian astrologers used at the beginning of the year to make presents of their ephemerides; and others, from the Teutonic almaen achte; observations on all the months. Dr Johnfon derives it from the Arabic particle al, and the Greek μήνη, a month. But the most simple etymology appears from the common spelling; the word being composed of two Arabic ones, Al Manack, which signify the Diary. All the classes of Arabs are commonly much given to the study of astronomy and astrology; to both which a pastoral life, and a sort of husbandry, not only incline them, but afford time and opportunity to cultivate them. They neither sow, reap, plant, travel, buy or sell, or undertake any expedition or business, without previously consulting the stars, or, in other words, their almanacks, or some of the makers of them. From these people, by their vicinity to Europe, this art, no less useful in one sense than trifling and ridiculous in another, hath passed over hither: and those astronomical compositions have still everywhere not only retained their old Arabic name; but were, like theirs, for a long while, and still are among many European nations, interspersed with a great number of astrological rules for planting, sowing, bleeding, purging, &c., down to the cutting of the hair and paring of the nails.—Regiomontanus appears to have been the first in Europe, however, who reduced almanacks into their present form and method, gave the characters of each Almanack, each year and month, foretold the eclipses and other phases, calculated the motions of the planets, &c. His first almanack was published in 1474.

The essential part of an almanack is the calendar of months and days, with the risings and settings of the sun, age of the moon, &c. To these are added various parerga, astronomical, meteorological, chronological, political, rural, &c., as calculations and accounts of eclipses, solar ingresses, prognostics of the weather, tables of the tide, terms, &c., lists of posts, offices, dignities, public institutions, with many other articles political as well as local, and differing in different countries. A great variety are annually published in Britain; some for binding, which may be denominated book almanacks; others in loose papers, called flext almanacks.

The modern almanack answers to the Fasti of the ancient Romans. See Fasti.

Construction of Almanacks. The first thing to be done is, to compute the sun's and moon's place for each day of the year, or it may be taken from some ephemerides and entered into the almanack; next, find the dominical letter, and, by means thereof, distribute the calendar into weeks; then, having computed the time of Easter, by it fix the other moveable feasts; adding the immovable ones, with the names of the martyrs, the rising and setting of each luminary, the length of day and night, the aspects of the planets, the phases of the moon, and the sun's entrance into the cardinal points of the ecliptic, i.e. the two equinoxes and solstices. (See Astronomy, pafium.) By the help of good astronomical tables or ephemerides, the construction of almanacks is extremely easy.

For every almanack or calendar for one year or less, a stamp duty of 8d. must be paid. And for every almanack serving more than a year, the same duty is paid for each year. Perpetual almanacks pay for three years only. All books and pamphlets serving chiefly the purpose of almanacks, are charged as such. If any almanack contains more than one sheet, one sheet only need be stamped; and every almanack is required by law to be so printed, that some part of the print shall be upon the stamp. Selling unstamped almanacks incurs the same penalty as for selling unstamped newspapers. Almanacks in bibles and common prayer books are exempted.

Almanacks, among Antiquaries, is also the name given to a kind of instrument, usually of wood, inscribed with various figures and Runic characters, and representing the order of the feasts, dominical letters, days of the week, and golden number, with other matters necessary to be known throughout the year; used by the ancient northern nations, in their computations of time, both civil and ecclesiastical. Almanacks of this kind are known by various names, among the different nations wherein they have been used; as rim-rocks, primasters, runifocks, runifalls, Scipiones Runic, Baculi Annales, clogs, &c. They appear to have been used only by the Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians. From the second of these people, their use was introduced into England, whence divers remains of them in the counties. Dr Plot has given the description and figure of one of these clogs, found in Staffordshire, under the title of The Perpetual Staffordshire Almanack. The external figure and matter of these calendars appear to have been various. Sometimes they were cut on one or more wooden leaves, bound together after the manner of books; sometimes on the scabbards of swords, or even daggers; sometimes on tools and implements, as portable steelyards, hammers, the helve of hatchets, flails, &c. Sometimes they were made of brafs or horn; sometimes of the skins of eels, which being drawn over a stick properly inscribed, retained the impressions of it. But the most usual form was that of walking staves, or sticks, which they carried about with them to church, market, &c. Each of these staves is divided into three regions; whereof the first indicates the signs, the second the days of the week and year, and the third the golden number. The characters engraved on them are, in some, the ancient Rune; in others the latter Gothic characters of Ulflas. The faints days are expressed in hieroglyphics, significative either of some endowment of the saint, the manner of his martyrdom, or the like. Thus against the notch for the first of March, or St David's day, is represented a harp; against the 25th of October, or Crispin's day, a pair of shoes; against the 10th of August, or St Lawrence's day, a gridiron; and, lastly, against New-year's day, a horn, the symbol of liberal potations, which our ancestors indulged in at that period.