decennary

Other forms: decennaries

A decennary is rare word for a ten-year period. In other words, it's a decade. Call a decade a decennary if you’re feeling like an old fashioned British lawyer.

Like decade and decagon (polygon with ten sides), decennary comes from the Latin root decem for “ten.” A hundred years is made up of ten decennaries. People tend to make a big deal about birthdays that end a decennary, like turning 10, 20, or 30, etc.. A decennary is also known as a decennium. An old definition for this word is “ten neighboring families,” but that definition is from a few decennaries ago.

Definitions of decennary

1. noun

   a period of 10 years
   synonyms: decade, decennium

   types:

   1900s

   the decade from 1900 to 1909

   1530s

   the decade from 1530 to 1539

   1920s, twenties

   the decade from 1920 to 1929

   1820s

   the decade from 1820 to 1829

   1930s, thirties

   the decade from 1930 to 1939

   1830s

   the decade from 1830 to 1839

   1940s, forties

   the decade from 1940 to 1949

   1840s

   the decade from 1840 to 1849

   1950s, fifties

   the decade from 1950 to 1959

   1850s

   the decade from 1850 to 1859

   1750s

   the decade from 1750 to 1759

   1960s, sixties

   the decade from 1960 to 1969

   1860s

   the decade from 1860 to 1869

   1760s

   the decade from 1760 to 1769

   1970s, seventies

   the decade from 1970 to 1979

   1870s

   the decade from 1870 to 1879

   1770s

   the decade from 1770 to 1779

   1980s, eighties

   the decade from 1980 to 1989

   1880s, eighties

   the decade from 1880 to 1889

   1780s

   the decade from 1780 to 1789

   1990s, nineties

   the decade from 1990 to 1999

   1890s, nineties

   the decade from 1890 to 1899

   1790s

   the decade from 1790 to 1799

   type of:

   period, period of time, time period

   an amount of time