Fortnight
Encyclopedia
The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen day
s, or two week
s. The word derives from the Old English
fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights".
Fortnight and fortnightly are commonly used words in Britain and many Commonwealth countries such as Pakistan, India, New Zealand, and Australia, where many wages and salaries and most social security benefits are paid on a fortnightly basis. The word is rarely used in North America, except regionally in Canada and in insular traditional communities (e.g. Amish
) in the United States. American and Canadian payroll systems may use the term biweekly in reference to pay periods every two weeks. Neither term should be confused with semimonthly (in one year there are 26 fortnightly or biweekly versus 24 semimonthly pay periods).
(average) time between a full moon and a new moon (and vice versa) or half a synodic month. This is equal to 14.77 days. For more information see eclipse cycle
.
this period is called a paksa
(also paksha
) and consists of 15 tithe
.
, there are the terms quincena (or quince días) in Spanish
, cwindexéna (Venetian
), quinzaine (French
), quindicina Italian
, and quinzena (Portuguese
and Catalan
), all meaning "fifteen days"; in Italian is also in use the word "bisettimanale" with the same meaning of fortnight. Similarly, in Greek
, the term δεκαπενθήμερο (dekapenthímero), meaning "fifteen days", is also used. However in Hebrew
, the single-word (shvu′ayim) שבועים means exactly "two weeks". The Hindu calendar
uses the Sanskrit
word "paksha" to mean one half of a lunar month, which is between 14 and 15 solar days. In Welsh
, the term pythefnos, meaning "fifteen nights", is used instead. This is in keeping with the Welsh term for a week, which is wythnos ("eight nights").
Day
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
s, or two week
Week
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
s. The word derives from the Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights".
Fortnight and fortnightly are commonly used words in Britain and many Commonwealth countries such as Pakistan, India, New Zealand, and Australia, where many wages and salaries and most social security benefits are paid on a fortnightly basis. The word is rarely used in North America, except regionally in Canada and in insular traditional communities (e.g. Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
) in the United States. American and Canadian payroll systems may use the term biweekly in reference to pay periods every two weeks. Neither term should be confused with semimonthly (in one year there are 26 fortnightly or biweekly versus 24 semimonthly pay periods).
Astronomy
In astronomy, a fortnight is the meanArithmetic mean
In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean, often referred to as simply the mean or average when the context is clear, is a method to derive the central tendency of a sample space...
(average) time between a full moon and a new moon (and vice versa) or half a synodic month. This is equal to 14.77 days. For more information see eclipse cycle
Eclipse cycle
Eclipses may occur repeatedly, separated by certain intervals of time: these intervals are called eclipse cycles. The series of eclipses separated by a repeat of one of these intervals is called an eclipse series.- Eclipse conditions :...
.
Hindu Calendar
In the Hindu calendarHindu calendar
The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
this period is called a paksa
Paksa
Paksha relates to the time period of a fortnight.Pakṣa literally means the flank or side half of anything. Its most common use though refers to the two parts of the lunar month created by the Moon’s waxing and waning. The waxing phase of the Moon is called Shukla-paksha - the white half of the Moon...
(also paksha
Paksha
Paksha , is a fortnight in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning side or period, that is either side of the Full Moon Day or Purnima...
) and consists of 15 tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
.
In other languages
In many languages, there is no single word for a two-week period and the equivalents of "two weeks" or "fourteen days" have to be used. In many romance languagesRomance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, there are the terms quincena (or quince días) in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, cwindexéna (Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
), quinzaine (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
), quindicina Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and quinzena (Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
), all meaning "fifteen days"; in Italian is also in use the word "bisettimanale" with the same meaning of fortnight. Similarly, in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, the term δεκαπενθήμερο (dekapenthímero), meaning "fifteen days", is also used. However in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, the single-word (shvu′ayim) שבועים means exactly "two weeks". The Hindu calendar
Hindu calendar
The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
uses the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word "paksha" to mean one half of a lunar month, which is between 14 and 15 solar days. In Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, the term pythefnos, meaning "fifteen nights", is used instead. This is in keeping with the Welsh term for a week, which is wythnos ("eight nights").