Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#2505 05/17/00 05:28 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
tsuwm Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
We often hear the word 'fortnight' on British TV imports.
Does 'sennight' have any currency there? (it's marked archaic in MWC)

http://members.aol.com/tsuwm/

#2506 05/17/00 06:42 PM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 112
D
member
Offline
member
D
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 112
"Fortnight" is in regular usage in New Zealand, probably because of the country's historical (and therefore linguistic) connection with England.

But that denies the US historical (and therefore linguistic) connection with England.

Am I opening another can of worms?



#2507 05/17/00 10:15 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 81
P
journeyman
Offline
journeyman
P
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 81
Fortnight is certainly in common usage in my experience in England but sennight I've never heard used in my 40 years living in the South East, the Midlands and West Yorkshire. It may be used in a region I'm not familiar with (regional variations can be quite large and Scots is a seperate English dialect).


#2508 05/18/00 09:49 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 18
J
stranger
Offline
stranger
J
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 18
Fowler says -
sennight. So written; but the word is now almost out
of use. It might have been, but will now hardly be,
utilized as a substitute for "week" in the formula "on
Monday &c. week" when the reckoning was to be
backwards: We start tomorrow week, BUT It happened
yesterday sennight.


#2509 05/20/00 11:36 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
P
addict
Offline
addict
P
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
Brewer says, inter alia, that se’nnight and fort’night are relics of the ancient Celtic custom of beginning the day at sunset … also ‘The evening and the morning were the first day’ (Genesis).



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 676 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5