Fortnight
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- Lexiterian
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Fortnight
What is the history of this word? I seem to remember studying American history and it was an English (Brit) term for the time a group of soldiers spend in the fort before the would be relieved by another garrison; 14 nights. Is that correct?
And not so ancients.
From Lt.-Col. D.C. Phillott, Hindustani Manual (1918).
(The last sentence, word by word, is "night 's 3 o'clock".)Hindus consider that the day begins at sunrise. Muslims, like Jews, consider that the day begins at sunset. "The world was dark before it was light," they say, "and so the night should precede the day." In countries under Muslim rule, the watch is set at sunset, whichis 12 o'clock. Consequently an Englishman's Thursday night is a Muslim's Friday night. ... As Muslims in India use both the English ande Muslim systems, misunderstandings, even among Muslims themselves, are not infrequent. The night lasts till dawn: 3 A.M. is rāt ke tīn baje.
From Lt.-Col. D.C. Phillott, Hindustani Manual (1918).
Irren ist männlich
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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And the French, of course, to be different, use the term quinze jours or fifteen days instead of fortnight.No, it's just a contraction of Old English "féowertýne niht". It dates back at least a thousand years, along with "sennight"--a week, or seven nights. Germanic peoples reckoned time by nights, rather than days.
Vive la diffénce!
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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- Grand Panjandrum
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What about quinzaine? Portuguese quinzena, Spanish quincena, Italian quindicina, Catalan quinzenada, but I understand your point: you count the days in groups of 14s, whereas we do in groups of 15s. Interesting...
14 days makes more sense to me, but we don't have such a word, I think.
Brazilian dude
14 days makes more sense to me, but we don't have such a word, I think.
Brazilian dude
Languages rule!
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