/feb"rooh er'ee, feb"yooh-/ , n. , pl. Februaries .
the second month of the year, ordinarily containing 28 days, but containing 29 days in leap years. Abbr.: Feb.
[ bef. 1000; ME; OE Februarius Februarius (mensis) expiatory (month), der. of februa (pl.) expiatory offerings; see -ARY ]
Pronunciation . Many people try to pronounce FEBRUARY with both /r/ sounds, as shown above. The common pronunciation /feb"yooh er'ee/ , with the first /r/ replaced by /y/ , is the result of dissimilation, the tendency of like sounds to become unlike when they follow each other closely. An additional influence is analogy with January. Although sometimes criticized, this dissimilated pronunciation of FEBRUARY is used by educated speakers and is considered standard.