# How did the term "Fortnight" come into being? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561 "2011-11-20T17:39:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/1 "2011-11-20T17:39:44Z")
I know that today some people are paid every two weeks, but _fortnight_ is a very old English word. What would happen every two weeks (fourteen nights to be exact) in “long ago” England that made the coining of such a word useful? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/2 "2011-11-20T17:53:30Z")
Quoth the OED > [@](#): > > Etymology: Contracted form of Old English féowertýne niht fourteen nights. Compare sennight n.For the ancient Germanic method of reckoning by nights see Tacitus Germaniaxi… (Show Less) > 1. > Thesaurus » > a. A period of fourteen nights; two weeks.a1000 Laws of Ina §55 Oþ ðæt feowertyne niht ofer Eastron. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/3 "2011-11-20T18:21:49Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Quoth the OED Yes, but what USE is it? “I’ll see you in a _fortnight_”. “I’ve been dating her for a _fortnight_.” “We’ve been working on this roof for a _fortnight_”. ETC. How often does one use the concept of 14 days? What happens the next day when it becomes 15 days? “I’ll see you _next week_.” I’ve been dating her for _a month_." We’ve been working on this roof for _a year_." These periods of time seem to be far more useful because you can “add” to them. Two weeks, three weeks; 5 months, 6 months; 8 years, 10 years, etc. I don’t think anyone says, “I’ll see you in a couple of fortnights”. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/4 "2011-11-20T18:26:21Z")
I guess the first issue might be why ‘nights’ and not ‘days’. To wit: > [@](#): > > preserving the ancient Germanic custom of reckoning by night ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/5 "2011-11-20T18:27:28Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > I don’t think anyone says, “I’ll see you in a couple of fortnights”. No, I don’t think anyone ever says that. Personally I only really ever use it for holidays, as in “I’ve got a fortnight off in June”. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/6 "2011-11-20T18:28:30Z")
A fortnight is a half moon, i.e. the time it takes to go from full to half and half to new. That would be an important marker. [Etymonline.com](http://Etymonline.com) seems to make a reference to this under harvest: > [@](#): > > The borrowing of autumn and the use of fall in a seasonal sense gradually focused the meaning of harvest to “the time of gathering crops” (mid-13c.), then to the action itself and the product of the action (after c.1300). Figurative use by 1530s. Harvest home (1590s) is the occasion of bringing home the last of the harvest; harvest moon (1706) is that which is full within a fortnight of the autumnal equinox. There are many worse explanations on the Net. Sam, don’t go [here](http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk/phraseorigins.php) unless you have a need to slam your head into a wall. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/7 "2011-11-20T18:32:37Z")
A period of fourteen nights: equivalent to French “une quinzaine” (de jours). May be the English consider nights more important than days.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/8 "2011-11-20T18:38:14Z")
For comparison puposes, the French refer to a two week period as “fifteen days” (\*J’y suis allée il y a quinze jours \*– I went there two weeks ago). Even more disturbing, they refer to a one week period as “eight days” (_Je te vois en huit jours_ – I’ll see you in a week). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/9 "2011-11-20T18:49:34Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Sam, don’t go [here](http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk/phraseorigins.php) unless you have a need to slam your head into a wall. Ye Gods. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/10 "2011-11-20T18:58:22Z")
I sometimes use “sen-night” for a week. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/11 "2011-11-20T19:03:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > There are many worse explanations on the Net. Sam, don’t go [here](http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk/phraseorigins.php) unless you have a need to slam your head into a wall. Excellent cite for the origin of “fortnight”. I shall start spreading that around. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/12 "2011-11-20T19:12:28Z")
> [@Mornac](#): > > For comparison puposes, the French refer to a two week period as “fifteen days” (\*J’y suis allée il y a quinze jours \*– I went there two weeks ago). Even more disturbing, they refer to a one week period as “eight days” (_Je te vois en huit jours_ – I’ll see you in a week). But only because conventionally they count today as part of the period. Like in music, a first interval is two notes with the same pitch, and a second is a one note and the next note up, &c. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/13 "2011-11-20T19:22:25Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > There are many worse explanations on the Net. Sam, don’t go url=“[http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk/phraseorigins.php](http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk/phraseorigins.php)”]here unless you have a need to slam your head into a wall. Has to be the worst etymology source on the web. I can’t find a single explanation that’s correct. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/14 "2011-11-20T19:29:40Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Yes, but what USE is it? An event that happens every other week can be described as occurring fortnightly. Other dialects might describe this as happening on alternate weeks, but I find that ambiguous due to overlap with ‘alternative’ It’s a reasonably useful word despite not being common in all English dialects. I hear it used quite frequently here in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/15 "2011-11-20T20:46:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > An event that happens every other week can be described as occurring fortnightly. Other dialects might describe this as happening on alternate weeks, but I find that ambiguous due to overlap with ‘alternative’ > > It’s a reasonably useful word despite not being common in all English dialects. I hear it used quite frequently here in the UK. I’m not here to criticize British English; I’m only curious as to when and why the term is used. If fortnight can used to describe “half a month”, then I can begin to see how it might prove to be useful. Or if it is mostly used with “about” or “almost”, I get it. However, if its meaning is strictly 14 days (like a week is strictly 7 days), then I fail to see how it could be commonly used. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/16 "2011-11-20T21:14:00Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > However, if its meaning is strictly 14 days (like a week is strictly 7 days), then I fail to see how it could be commonly used. But it is. “A fortnights holiday”. Government benefits are paid fortnightly. It’s just a word, it gets used when it’s appropriate to do so. I don’t see why this is a problem for you. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/17 "2011-11-20T21:16:19Z")
If it _were_ commonly used, you’d probably see how it could be commonly used. For an example, we use liquid measures of cups, pints, quarts, and also gallons. Do we really need all of those? Yet they’re all common. Compare week to cup, fortnight to pint, and month to quart. If “pint” weren’t common, your post could be asking the same question about that word. But it is common, so it seems normal to you (I assume). ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/18 "2011-11-20T21:36:46Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Yes, but what USE is it? As I noted in [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13647215&postcount=42) in a previous thread, many activities occur on a fortnightly basis, and the word fortnight is in constant use here. I actually used it about ten minutes ago, explaining a staff member’s absence this morning…“she has a fortnight’s leave”. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/19 "2011-11-20T22:40:15Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > … > How often does one use the concept of 14 days? What happens the next day when it becomes 15 days? > … You can get a fortnightly paycheck (i.e. you get paid every two weeks). An event can happen every two weeks. E.g. a church that practices Communion every other Sunday service could be said to have Communion every fortnight. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561/20 "2011-11-20T22:51:05Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > I’m not here to criticize British English; I’m only curious as to when and why the term is used. If fortnight can used to describe “half a month”, then I can begin to see how it might prove to be useful. Or if it is mostly used with “about” or “almost”, I get it. However, if its meaning is strictly 14 days (like a week is strictly 7 days), then I fail to see how it could be commonly used. Like most other expressions of duration, it is sometimes used less precisely than others, but usually, a fortnight refers to two whole weeks. In my experience, it gets used to describe half a month approximately as often as a month gets approximated as four weeks. I’m not going to go out of my way to try to defend the usage of this word - it is what it is, except that I already gave an example of how it is commonly used (that you apparently fail to see). Events that happen every other week are fortnightly. I don’t really get the ‘what if it’s 15 days?’ thing. What happens to an hour if it’s 70 minutes, or a day if it’s 32 hours? Beyond a certain tolerance, none of these terms are useful. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-fortnight-come-into-being/603561.md?page=2)