|
|
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
In a newsgroup I frequent, someone asked for a word to describe an event that happens 3 times a year. Here is the entire discussion to date, I would be very interested to know what you all think. Almost all the people who post to this newsgroup are tertiary-educated professionals, with an unusually high number of engineers (divers flavours), along with lawyers, and a few political staffers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, I'll ask all the people here. I know that semi-annual
will describe an event that takes place twice a year. Tri-annual or
triennial would be every three years. So is there a word for three times a year. I've been unable to find one in the dictionary or any place else.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
how about terti-annual?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
What about something to the effect of quadrimonthly? Express it in terms
of every four months instead of 3 times a year?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you probably know, "biweekly" can mean either twice a week or every
two weeks. If you're going to have to make up a word anyway, I'd go with
tri-annual and live with the ambiguity. It seems to me more logical that a
reader would assume tri-annual to mean three times a year and not once every
three years.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, trimester applies to both three academic periods in the academic
year, as well as to thirds of gestation. I doubt anybody but a book
author could make a living publishing anything once every three years...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trimesterly was the suggestion on another list.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it's better to avoid the problem and say 'three times a year' or
'thrice yearly'.
Look at the problem with 'biannual' (twice a year) and 'biennial' (once
every two years)...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh yeah, I can see someone saying "thrice" right now!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, what's wrong with thrice? I hear it at least twice a
fortnight.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
triannual (adj.) tri�an�nu�al
1. done, occurring, issued, etc., three times a year.
2. triennial.
3. a triannual publication, contest, etc.
4. triennial.
The Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Copyright � 2001 by Random
House Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
See: http://www.allwords.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, even though "triannual" appears to NOT be a word in any dictionary I
have looked... it should be!
So, start using it! I'm gonna.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was a little bemused, as I simply thought to myself that since biannual means twice a year, triannual would mean thrice (namaste, shanks) a year. Did I oversimplify it?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
>did I oversimplify it?
yes, but you more than made up for that with this post.
actually�, you don't find triannual in many dictionaries becuase it seems to have gone obsolete (and was used pretty rarely in the first place).
Obs. rare.
Occurring every three years; lasting for three years; = triennial.
1640 Par. Acc. St. Barth. by Exchange in Arch�ologia XLV. 78 Pd. the ringers for joy of the tryannual Parliament, o. 2. 6. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. lxix. 133 He was deputed a Triannual President of the Isle of Negrapont.
�b. Occurring thrice a year.
1901 Daily Chron. 8 June 5/2 The ladies+we learn+will hold �tri-annual invitation meetings�.+ That, we suppose, means an invitation once in four months.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,915
Posts229,930
Members9,198
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
834
guests, and
3
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
