decennium

English

Etymology

From Latin decennium, from decennis (“10-year”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns), from deciēs (“ten times”) + annus (“year”) + -is (suffix forming compound adjectives). Equivalent to decennial +‎ -ium.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈsɛnɪəm/

Noun

decennium (plural decenniums or decennia)

1. 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^[1] (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^[2] (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 1 to 0 or 0 to 9.

Derived terms

• decennal
• decenniad

Related terms

• (adj.): See decennial
• (adv.): See decennially
• (10-year anniversary): decennial

Danish

Etymology

From Latin decennium.

Noun

decennium n (singular definite decenniet, plural indefinite decennier)

1. decade; a period of ten years

Declension

Declension of decennium

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	decennium	decenniet	decennier	decennierne
genitive	decenniums	decenniets	decenniers	decenniernes

Further reading

• “decennium” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “decennium” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin decennium.

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)

1. a decade, a period of ten years

   Synonyms: (rare) decade, jaartiental

Derived terms

• decennialang

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [dɛˈkɛn.ni.ũː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [deˈt͡ʃɛn.ni.um]

Etymology 1

From decennis +‎ -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).

Noun

decennium n (genitive decenniī or decennī); second declension

1. (post-classical) a period of ten years, a decennium, decade
   • 2nd century, Apuleius, On the God of Socrates XVIII:

     Calchas autem longe praestabilis hariolari simul alites et altaria et arborem contemplatus est, actutum sua divinatione et tempestates flexit et classem deduxit et decennium praedixit; non secus et in Troiano exercitu cum divinatione res indigent, tacet ille sapiens senatus nec audet aliquid pronuntiare vel Hicetaon vel Lampo vel Clytius, sed omnes silentio auscultant aut ingrata auguria Heleni aut incredita vaticinia Cassandrae.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	decennium	decennia
genitive	decenniī decennī1	decenniōrum
dative	decenniō	decenniīs
accusative	decennium	decennia
ablative	decenniō	decenniīs
vocative	decennium	decennia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Coordinate terms

• (2-year period): biennium
• (3-year period): triennium
• (4-year period): quadriennium
• (5-year period): quīnquennium
• (6-year period): sexennium
• (7-year period): septuennium
• (8-year period): octennium
• (9-year period): novennium
• (20-year period): vīcennium
• (30-year period): trīcennium

Descendants

• Danish: decennium
• Dutch: decennium
• English: decennium
• Norwegian: decennium, desennium
• Swedish: decennium

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

decennium

1. genitive masculine/feminine/neuter plural of decennis

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

Noun

decennium n (definite singular decenniet, indefinite plural decennier, definite plural decennia or decenniene)

1. alternative spelling of desennium

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

decennium n (definite singular decenniet, indefinite plural decennium, definite plural decennia)

1. alternative spelling of desennium

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛˈsɛnɪɵm/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

decennium n

1. a decade (period of ten years)

   Synonym: årtionde

Declension

Declension of decennium

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	decennium	decenniums
	definite	decenniet	decenniets
plural	indefinite	decennier	decenniers
	definite	decennierna	decenniernas

References

• decennium in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• decennium in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• decennium in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)