fortnight
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- fortnith (dialectal, obsolete)
Etymology edit
From Middle English fourtenyght, fourtene nyght, from Old English fēowertīene niht (“fourteen days”), 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 (AU) (file) Audio (AUS) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tnaɪt
Noun edit
fortnight (plural fortnights)
- (chiefly UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, 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