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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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

So yes, even though USA Gymnastics’ proverbial routine had gone wildly, tragically, and very publicly wrong, the organization spent the 2017–20 quadrennium deciding that the best course of action was, effectively, to muscle through.

From Slate • Aug. 9, 2021

While women's team coordinator Martha Karolyi believes the group could "physically and gymnastically go on for another quadrennium," reality might not let them.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 9, 2012

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

“It will be great to have them involved in USA Basketball and in the National Team pipeline for our next quadrennium, 2013-16.”

From Washington Post • May 21, 2012

I have always thought that if he had been a land agent, instead of a preacher, he could have sold the whole of Alaska and the adjacent icebergs in one quadrennium.

From A Circuit Rider's Wife by Harris, Corra