Meanings
plural Roman months · alternative Roman Month
- historicalA quantity of tax paid by electorates or other constituent states to the Holy Roman Empire. Abbreviated as RM.First known use 17th c.
On the 29th ult. the general aſſembly of the empire unanimouſly reſolved, in all the three colleges, to pay the farther ſum of 100 Roman months.
1796, State Papers Relative to the War Against France, vol. III, part 2, p. 1901 more example
[T]he sovereigns of Lippe, Waldeck, Hesse-Cassel, Brunswick, Hanover, and Gotha found it more advantageous to let out their troops to England than to pay Roman-months and furnish their contingents to the Imperial army.
1864, Thomas Henry Dyer, The History of Modern Europe, volume III, page 405
Origin
- GermanRömermonat
- EnglishRoman month
Translating German Römermonat, so called because the sum was originally paid in lieu of sending troops to accompany the King of the Holy Roman Empire on his journey to Rome to be crowned emperor, a journey calculated to take a certain number of months.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Roman month. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roman%20month
“Roman month.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roman%20month. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Roman month,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roman%20month.
Source: Roman month on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.