decenario

Italian

Alternative forms

• decennario

Etymology

PIE word
*déḱm̥

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin decēnārius, reshaping of Classical Latin dēnārius (“tenfold”) (influenced by adjectives such as septēnārius), derived from dēnī (“ten each”), distributive form of decem (“ten”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de.t͡ʃeˈna.rjo/
• Rhymes: -arjo
• Hyphenation: de‧ce‧nà‧rio

Adjective

decenario (feminine decenaria, masculine plural decenari, feminine plural decenarie) (archaic)

1. tenfold

   Synonym: decuplo

   • 1477 [413–426], “Capitolo .xxiii.” (chapter 23), Libro xx., in Antonio Miscomini, transl., De la cità di Dio [On the city of God]‎^[1] (theology; manuscript), translation of Dē cīvitāte Deī by Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis (in Late Latin), page 537:

     Or che ſequeſto decenario numero ſono ſignificati tutti gli uniuerſi Re: dopo liquali colui dee uenire come per lo millenario centenario et ſeptenario e ſignificata ſpeſſe uolte launiuerſita et ꝑ altri numeri chi none neceſſario diricordarlo ora.

     [Or che se questo decenario numero sono significati tutti gli universi re — dopo li quali colui dee venire — come per lo millenario, centenario e settenario è significata spesse volte la università, e per altri numeri chi non è necessario di ricordarlo ora[?]]

     [original: Quid sī enim numerō istō dēnāriō ūniversitās rēgum significāta est, post quōs ille ventūrus est; sīcut mīllēnāriō, centēnāriō, septēnāriō significātur plērumque ūniversitās, et aliīs atque aliīs numerīs, quōs nunc commemorāre nōn est necesse?]

     So, what if this 10 were to represent all of the kings—after whom he [the Antichrist] is to come—just as 1000, 100, and 7 (as well as other numbers that don't need to be remembered now) often represent totality?

     (literally, “So what if [through] this tenfold number are signified all the whole kings, after whom he must come, like through the thousandfold [number], hundredfold [number], and sevenfold [number] is signified oftentimes the totality and through other numbers that is not necessary to remember now.”)

Noun

decenario m (plural decenari)

1. ten (the number 10)

   Synonym: dieci

2. (historical) the head of an administrative district of ten families
3. decade (ten-year period)

   Synonyms: decade, decennio

References

• Accademia della Crusca (p. 1961), “decenario”, in Grande dizionario della lingua italiana (in Italian), volume 4, page 72