quadrennium

American  

[kwo-dren-ee-uhm] / kwɒˈdrɛn i əm /

noun

• quadrenniums,
  plural
• quadrennia
  plural

1. a period of four years.

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quadrennium British  

/ kwɒˈdrɛnɪəm /

noun

1. a period of four years

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• quadrennia
  plural
• quadrenniums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of quadrennium

1815–25; < New Latin, alteration of Latin quadriennium, equivalent to quadri- quadri- + -enn-, combining form of annus year ( cf. annual) + -ium -ium

Explanation

High school and college both last for a quadrennium. That's four years' time, even if, to some, it feels more like a millenium, i.e., a thousand. Quadrennium is one of the words that specifically names a period of years––an annum is one year, a decade ten, a century a hundred, and a millennium a thousand. Quad- refers to the number four. In college campus architecture, a quad is a lawn surrounded by ivy-covered brick buildings on four sides.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quadrennium quadrennia quadrenniums

At the halfway mark of the Olympic quadrennium, the USA Track & Field event serves as an important checkpoint for the sport’s hope to break out of the four-year popularity cycle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026

While Memmel said leadership during the quadrennium between the 2016 and 2020 Olympics made athletes aware of how the code was changing, those changes weren’t necessarily implemented into the routines.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2022

The world championships held immediately after the Olympics are typically a lower-profile competition because they are the first in each new quadrennium and don’t include a team competition.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 21, 2021

It has been quite a quadrennium: full of personal growth and private anguish, with his father, Rob Daley, dying of a brain tumor in May last year at 40.

From New York Times ● Jul. 31, 2012

But we are forgetting the title of this chapter and must name some of those who helped to make Chautauqua successful during the quadrennium between '92 and '96.

From The Story of Chautauqua by Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman

We just might be seeing him in World Cups for quadrennia to come.

From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2018

As a result, the handful of Olympic hopefuls who get singled out for their potential star power have started demanding more cash than they did a few quadrenniums ago.

From Time Magazine Archive