decennium
English
Etymology
From Latin decennium, from decennis (“10-year”) + -ium (“forming abstract nouns”), from deciēs (“ten times”) + annus (“year”) + -is (“forming compound adjectives”). Equivalent to decennial + -ium.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /dɪˈsɛnɪəm/
Noun
decennium (plural decenniums or decennia)
- Synonym of decade: a ten year period.
- Coordinate terms: annum, biennium, triennium, quadrennium, quinquennium, sexennium, septennium, octennium, novennium, vicennium, tricennium, centennium, quincentennium, millennium, decamillennium, centimillennium, millionennium
- 1998, soc.culture.netherlands (Usenet):
- G.B. still has to cope with the heritage of approx. 20 years of consecutive Conservative reigns, just as you guys are getting your act together after almost a decennium of Enlightened Ronnie.
- 1996, soc.culture.usa (Usenet):
- Christian leaders refused even to *look* through Galileo's telescope (as a matter of fact, the Vatican cleared Galileo's name only as late as in the previous decennium).
Usage notes
When decennium is used in place of the more common decade, it is generally employed to avoid the connection of decade with the set spans of ten year calendar periods whose last digits run from 0 to 9.
Derived terms
Related terms
- (adj.): See decennial
- (adv.): See decennially
- (10-year anniversary): decennial
Danish
Noun
decennium n (singular definite decenniet, plural indefinite decennier)
- decade; a period of ten years
Declension
neuter gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | decennium | decenniet | decennier | decennierne |
genitive | decenniums | decenniets | decenniers | decenniernes |
Further reading
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌdeːˈsɛ.ni.ʏm/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: de‧cen‧ni‧um
- Rhymes: -ɛniʏm
Noun
decennium n (plural decennia or decenniën or decenniums, diminutive decenniumpje n)
Synonyms
- decade (rare)
- jaartiental
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /deˈken.ni.um/, [d̪ɛˈkɛnːiʊ̃ˑ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /deˈt͡ʃen.ni.um/, [d̪eˈt͡ʃɛnːium]
Etymology 1
From decennis (“10-year”) + -ium (“-ium: forming abstract nouns”), decennis being from decem (“ten”) + annus (“year”) + -is (“forming compound adjectives”).
Declension
Second-declension noun (neuter).
1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
References
- “decennium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- decennium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Norwegian Bokmål
Norwegian Nynorsk
Swedish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dɛˈsɛnɪɵm/
audio (file)
Declension
Declension of decennium | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | decennium | decenniet | decennier | decennierna |
Genitive | decenniums | decenniets | decenniers | decenniernas |