fortnight

[ fawrt-nahyt, -nit ]

noun

1. the space of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.

fortnight

/ ˈfɔːtˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a period of 14 consecutive days; two weeks

Word History and Origins

Origin of fortnight¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English fourtenight, contraction of Old English fēowertēne niht; fourteen, night

Word History and Origins

Origin of fortnight¹

Old English fēowertīene niht fourteen nights

Example Sentences

Entries can be wiped from the record after a day, a week, a fortnight, a month, or a year—your choice.

From Popular-Science

For a fortnight in Glasgow, delegates from nearly 200 countries will argue back and forth over the great energy transition—over the political and practical challenges of shifting the world from fossil fuels to renewables.

From Quartz

This that you describe must have happened a fortnight after he died.

From The Daily Beast

There were no other visitors save for a man who came for a fortnight with his wife and seven children.

From The Daily Beast

Fireplace ashes are a hazard for at least a day and can remain so for as long as a fortnight, Duran says.

From The Daily Beast

A fortnight ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, accused Israel of committing "genocide" against the Palestinians.

From The Daily Beast

It appears that even the sedate Fortnight has a soft spot for star-f------.

From The Daily Beast

A primitive savage makes a bow and arrow in a day: it takes him a fortnight to make a bark canoe.

From Project Gutenberg

Some of the half-made hay in the meadows looks as though it had been standing out to bleach for the last fortnight.

From Project Gutenberg

Who could have believed that only a fortnight ago these same figures were clean as new pins; smart and well-liking!

From Project Gutenberg

I shall be glad to hear from you soon, as I intend to go to Padstow in a few days and shall not return under a fortnight.

From Project Gutenberg

During that fortnight of silence the whole of the Turkish Empire has been moving—closing in—on the Dardanelles.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• half-month
• two weeks