fortnight

[fawrt-nahyt, -nit]

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noun

the space of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.

Origin of fortnight

before 1000; Middle English fourtenight, contraction of Old English fēowertēne niht. See fourteen, night

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fortnight

Contemporary Examples of fortnight

This that you describe must have happened a fortnight after he died.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
There were no other visitors save for a man who came for a fortnight with his wife and seven children.
Bin Laden’s Life on the Run, Witnessed by Al Qaeda Child Bride
Michael Daly
July 10, 2013
Fireplace ashes are a hazard for at least a day and can remain so for as long as a fortnight, Duran says.
Madonna Badger’s ‘Today’ Interview Shouldn’t Ignore Fire’s Tragic Lessons
Michael Daly
June 21, 2012
A fortnight ago, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, accused Israel of committing "genocide" against the Palestinians.
Turkish Hypocrisy
Benny Morris
March 28, 2012
Afghanistan was almost forgotten in Britain, until the recent upsurge in British casualties: 16 dead in a fortnight.
How Obama Is Losing Britain
Richard Heller
July 19, 2009

Historical Examples of fortnight

From that day for nearly a fortnight there were busy doings in the house.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
They were to go to Dublin for a week, and then up to Ballyards for a fortnight.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
We have been having this sort of thing now for ten days; no, a fortnight—a fortnight.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
We have been here about a fortnight, and I believe we shall stay about a month longer.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
This course of life may have lasted a fortnight; when I became heartily tired of it.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for fortnight

fortnight

noun

a period of 14 consecutive days; two weeks

Word Origin for fortnight

Old English fēowertīene niht fourteen nights

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fortnight

17c. contraction of Middle English fourteniht, from Old English feowertyne niht, literally "fourteen nights," preserving the ancient Germanic custom of reckoning by nights, mentioned by Tacitus in "Germania" xi. Related: Fortnightly.