septennium

English

Etymology

From Late Latin septennium, from septennis (“7-year”) + -ium (“forming abstract nouns”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /sɛpˈtɛniəm/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sɛpˈtɛnɪəm/

Noun

septennium (plural septenniums or septennia)

1. A period of seven years. [1660]

   Coordinate terms: annum, biennium, triennium, quadrennium, quinquennium, sexennium, octennium, novennium, decennium, centennium, quincentennium, millennium, decamillennium, centimillennium, millionennium

   • 1868, Mark Pattison, Suggestions on Academical Organisation with Especial Reference to Oxford, section VI: “Of the Studies Preliminary to the Degree”, § 4: ‘Liberal Studies (Arts) and Special Studies (Science)’, page 265:

     It might be sufficient to answer, that, of the septennium required for the arts degree in the old system the greater portion is now spent at school.

Synonyms

• septenniad (rare)

Hypernyms

• septet, heptad, septuor

Related terms

• (adj.) septennial; septennian (obsolete, rare)

Translations

period of seven years

• Latin: septuennium n
• Polish: siedmiolecie n
• Spanish: septenio (es) m

References

• “Septenʹnium” on page 355/3 of John Ogilvie’s Supplement to the Imperial Dictionary, English, Technological and Scientific (1855)
• “‖Septennium” on page 479/3 of part ii (S–Sh; edited by Henry Bradley) of volume VIII (Q–Sh; 1st ed., 1914) of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles
• “‖septennium” in the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed., 1989)

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /sepˈten.ni.um/, [s̠ɛpˈt̪ɛnːiʊ̃ˑ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /sepˈten.ni.um/, [sepˈt̪ɛnːium]

Noun

septennium n (genitive septenniī or septennī); second declension

1. Alternative spelling of septuennium

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	septennium	septennia
Genitive	septenniī septennī1	septenniōrum
Dative	septenniō	septenniīs
Accusative	septennium	septennia
Ablative	septenniō	septenniīs
Vocative	septennium	septennia

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

Descendants

• English: septennium, septennial

References

• “septennĭum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• septennĭum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,426/2