fortnight
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- fortnith (dialectal, obsolete)
Etymology
[edit]From Middle English fourtenyght, fourtene nyght, from Old English fēowertīene niht (“fourteen days”, literally “nights”), equivalent to fourteen + night. Compare sennight.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɔːt.naɪt/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹt.naɪt/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹt.nɪt/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tnaɪt
Noun
[edit]fortnight (plural fortnights)
- (chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, dated in North America) A period of 2 weeks.
- 1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter I, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz […], →OCLC:
- On being kicked the girl fell desperately in love with Henri, and for a fortnight they lived together and spent a thousand francs of Henri's money.
- 1969 January 12, Benjamin Welles, “A Hot Potato for Nixon”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
- The “lame duck” Johnson Administration, in its final fortnight in office, grappled last week with a diplomatic hot potato in the form of the latest Soviet proposal for a “just and lasting” Middle East peace settlement.
Hyponyms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]period of two weeks
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- “fortnight”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
fortnight on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English 2-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)tnaɪt
- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)tnaɪt/2 syllables
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- en:Fourteen
- en:Night