bissextus

[ bahy-seks-tuh s, bi- ]
/ baɪˈsɛks təs, bɪ- /

noun

February 29th: the extra day added to the Julian calendar every fourth year (except those evenly divisible by 400, a rule introduced by the Gregorian calendar) to compensate for the approximately six hours a year by which the common year of 365 days falls short of the solar year.

Origin of bissextus

< Late Latin bissextus (diēs) intercalary (day); see bis1, sext1; so called because the 6th day before the Calends of March (Feb. 24th) appeared twice every leap year

Words nearby bissextus