Exact historical dictionary sense
February in Webster's 1913 dictionary
The 1913 record labels february as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.
[L. Februarius, orig., the month of expiation, because on the fifteenth of this month the great feast of expiation and purification was held, fr. februa, pl., the Roman festival or purification; akin to februare to purify, expiate.]
Cross-verified historical senseIn Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "february" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L. Februarius, orig., the month of expiation, because on the fifteenth of this month the great feast of expiation and purification was held, fr. februa, pl., the Roman festival or purification; akin to februare to purify, expiate.]" The selected historical definition says: "The second month in the year, said to have been introduced into the Roman calendar by Numa. In common years this month contains twenty-eight days; in the bissextile, or leap year, it has twenty-nine days."