different between biennium vs quadrennium

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin biennium, from bi- (“prefix meaning ‘having two parts; occurring twice’”) (from bis (“twice”), from duis, from duo (“two”), from Proto-Indo-European *duwo, *dwóh? (“two”)) + annus (“year”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h?et-no-, probably from *h?et- (“to go”)) + -ium (“suffix forming nouns”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-yós (“suffix forming adjectives from nouns”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /b????n.?.?m/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ba???n.i.?m/
• Hyphenation: bi?enn?i?um

Noun

biennium (plural bienniums or biennia)

1. A period of two years.

Coordinate terms

• (1-year period): See year
• (3-year period): triennium

Derived terms

• biennial
• biennially

Translations

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /bi?en.ni.um/, [bi??n?i???]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /bi?en.ni.um/, [bi??n?ium]

Etymology 1

bi- +? annus +? -ium

Noun

biennium n (genitive bienni? or bienn?); second declension

1. biennium

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Descendants

• ? Catalan: bienni
• ? English: biennium
• ? Italian: biennio
• ? Spanish: bienio

Etymology 2

Regularly declined forms of biennis.

Adjective

biennium

1. genitive masculine plural of biennis
2. genitive feminine plural of biennis
3. genitive neuter plural of biennis

References

• biennium in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• biennium in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• biennium in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• biennium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

English

Etymology

From Latin quadrennium, from quadri- (“four”) + annus (“year”) + -ium (“-ium: forming neuter nouns”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kw??d??n?j?m/

Noun

quadrennium (plural quadrenniums or quadrennia)

1. A period of 4 years, (especially historical astronomy) the sets of four years in the Egyptian and Greek calendars.

Synonyms

• tetraeteris, tetraeterid

Related terms

• quadrennial
• (3-year period): triennium
• (5-year period): quinquennium, quinquenniad, quintennium, lustrum
• 10-year period: decade
• 100-year period: century
• 1000-year period: millennium