The article deals with the issue of origins of the names of the annual cycle periods, what sensual images of objects and phenomena the Evenks tried to find out in determining the category of time. In this regard, the lexical meaning and inner form of the words denoting the periods of the annual cycle of the Evenks are under consideration in the article. It substantiates the position that the lexical meaning and the internal form of the words denoting the periods of the annual cycle of the Evenks have a set of such groups of features that form the structure of the concept of “time”.