fortnight
Pluralfortnights
- 1A period of two weeks, equal to fourteen days.
The committee meets once a fortnight to review progress.
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.
1933, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Down and Out in Paris and LondonNote
The word is a fusion of Old English fēowertīene niht, "fourteen nights," from a time when the Anglo-Saxons counted spans of days by their nights. Sennight, "seven nights," was its partner for a week. It is everyday English in the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth, but in North America it now sounds dated, and two weeks is the safer choice there. George Orwell uses the common pattern: for a fortnight.
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Origin
From Middle English fourtenyght, from Old English fēowertīene niht, literally "fourteen nights": the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights. It combines the words for "fourteen" and "night."