Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Fortnight — Fort night (?; in U.S. often ?; 277), n. [Contr. fr. fourteen nights, our ancestors reckoning time by nights and winters; so, also, seven nights, sennight, a week.] The space of fourteen days; two weeks. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
fortnight — 17c. contraction of M.E. fourteniht, from O.E. feowertyne niht, lit. fourteen nights, preserving the ancient Germanic custom of reckoning by nights, mentioned by Tacitus in Germania xi. Related: Fortnightly … Etymology dictionary
fortnight — ► NOUN chiefly Brit. ▪ a period of two weeks. ORIGIN Old English, «fourteen nights» … English terms dictionary
fortnight — [fôrt′nīt΄] n. [ME fourte(n) niht < OE feowertyn niht, lit., fourteen nights] Chiefly Brit. a period of two weeks … English World dictionary
fortnight — noun (BrE) ADJECTIVE ▪ next ▪ last, past, previous ▪ whole VERB + FORTNIGHT ▪ spend … Collocations dictionary
fortnight */*/ — UK [ˈfɔː(r)tnaɪt] / US [ˈfɔrtˌnaɪt] noun [countable] Word forms fortnight : singular fortnight plural fortnights British a period of two weeks a fortnight away from home a fortnight s holiday once a fortnight (= every two weeks): I see her once a … English dictionary
Fortnight — The fortnight is a unit of time equivalent to fourteen days. The word derives from the Old English feorwertyne niht , meaning fourteen nights . [The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 5th Edition, 1964, p. 480] [ Senight , sennight or se night (seven… … Wikipedia
fortnight — fort|night S3 [ˈfo:tnaıt US ˈfo:rt ] n [C usually singular] BrE [: Old English; Origin: feowertyne niht fourteen nights ] two weeks ▪ a fortnight s holiday ▪ in a fortnight s time ▪ a fortnight ago … Dictionary of contemporary English
fortnight — fort|night [ fɔrt,naıt ] noun count BRITISH a period of two weeks: once a fortnight (=every two weeks): I see her once a fortnight … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
fortnight — [[t]fɔ͟ː(r)tnaɪt[/t]] fortnights N COUNT A fortnight is a period of two weeks. [mainly BRIT] I hope to be back in a fortnight … English dictionary
fortnight — noun /ˈfɔːt.naɪt,ˈfɔɹt.naɪt/ A period of fourteen nights; two weeks. 1852 [ … Wiktionary
