The etymology of "almanac" is hazy. It was borrowed into English from Old French almanach or Medieval Latin almanachus, from the Spanish-Arabic word al-manakh "calendar, almanac", citing the "Kitab al-Manakh," a 13th century publication by eminent Moroccan scholar, mathematician and astronomer, Ibn al-Banna al-Marrakushi. This word is probably from Late Greek almenichiakon "calendar", akin to Patristic Greek almenichiata, "the supernatural rulers of the celestial bodies", from Coptic. However, the ultimate origin of the word is unknown. The Arabic manah, "to reckon" has been suggested. Most sources do not trace much beyond the Greek and Latinate etymologies, thus ignoring significant evidence of the word's usage in Egyptian or Arabic languages.
It was borrowed into English from Old French almanach or Medieval Latin almanachus, from the Spanish-Arabic word al-manakh "calendar, almanac", citing the "Kitab al-Manakh," a 13th century publication by eminent Moroccan scholar, mathematician and astronomer, Ibn al-Banna al-Marrakushi.
This word is probably from Late Greek almenichiakon "calendar", akin to Patristic Greek almenichiata, "the supernatural rulers of the celestial bodies", from Coptic.
However, the ultimate origin of the word is unknown. The Arabic manah, "to reckon" has been suggested. Most sources do not trace much beyond the Greek and Latinate etymologies, thus ignoring significant evidence of the word's usage in Egyptian or Arabic languages.