decennary

decennary

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈsɛnəɹi/

Etymology 1

From Latin decennis (“decennial, of ten years”) + -ary.[1]

Adjective

decennary (not comparable)

1. Decennial: of or related to a ten-year period.

Noun

decennary (plural decennaries)

1. A decennium: a period of ten years.

Usage notes

Although decade may be taken as any group of ten years, it is commonly restricted to the informal ten-year periods of the calendar whose last digits run from 0 to 9. Decennary &c. has no such restriction.

Synonyms

• See decennium

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin decennārius, a variant of decanarius (“containing ten items; related to the number ten”).[2]

Adjective

decennary (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of decenary: of or related to the number ten; containing ten items.

Etymology 3

From Medieval Latin decennārius, a variant of decēnārius.[3]

Adjective

decennary (not comparable)

1. (law, historical) Alternative form of decenary: of or related to a tithing.

Noun

decennary (plural decennaries)

1. (law, historical) Alternative form of decenary: a tithing.
   • 1881, T.S. Frampton, Hundred of Wrotham, page 36:

     All males... should... be enrolled in a tithing, or decennary, which originally consisted of ten free families.

References

1. Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "decennary, adj. and n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1894.
2. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "decenary, adj.¹" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2015.
3. Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "decenary | decennary, adj.² and n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1894.