Fortnight

The term "fortnight" being used in an 1888 novel title by Maurice Thompson (1902 cover pictured)

A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term fēowertīene niht, meaning "fourteen nights" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights).

Astronomy and tides

In astronomy, a lunar fortnight is half a lunar synodic month, which is equivalent to the mean period between a full moon and a new moon (and vice versa). This is equal to 14.77 days. It gives rise to a lunar fortnightly tidal constituent (see: Long-period tides).

Analogs and translations

In many languages, there is no single word for a two-week period, and the equivalent terms "two weeks", "14 days", or "15 days" (counting inclusively) have to be used.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fortnight". The Concise Oxford Dictionary (5th ed.). 1964. p. 480.
  2. ↑ Senight, sennight or se'night (seven-night), an old word for the week, was still in use in the early 19th century, to judge from Jane Austen's letters.
  3. ↑ Littmann, Mark; Fred Espenak; Ken Willcox (2008). Totality: Eclipses of the Sun. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-953209-4.
  4. ↑ Weisstein, Eric W. "Synodic Month definition".
  5. ↑ BBC (16 October 2014). "BBC Wales - Catchphrase". BBC Wales. Retrieved 18 November 2016. Wythnos is a week.
  6. ↑ "Do You Know How to Say Fortnight in Different Languages?". indifferentlanguages.com.