The Kalends (Latin k/calendæ, -arum), (or calends) correspond to the first days of each month of the Roman calendar. This term can be traced back to the Etruscans, which could explain the appearance of the letter k, a letter less favoured by Latin than the letter c (the few Latin words containing a k are often borrowed from the Estrucans). Another explanation of the word's roots is that its from the Latin language: from the word calendae (the called), from the infinitive calare (to call).

The Romans assigned these kalends to the first day of the month, signifying the start of the new moon cycle. On that day, the pontiffs would announce the rest days for the upcoming month, and the debitors had to pay off their debts that were inscribed in the calendaria , a sort of accounts book.

This word forms the basis of a collection of words in the English language, notably calendar.