Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

decennium

/dɪˈsɛnɪəm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.03 in modern English

Syllables: de-cen-ni-um
IPA: /dɪˈsɛnɪəm/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Synonym of decade: a ten year period.

Example Sentences

"G.B. still has to cope with the heritage of approx. 20 years of consecutive Conservative reigns, just as you guys are getting your act together after almost a decennium of Enlightened Ronnie."
"Christian leaders refused even to *look* through Galileo's telescope (as a matter of fact, the Vatican cleared Galileo's name only as late as in the previous decennium)."

Etymology

From Latin decennium, from decennis (“10-year”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns), from deciēs (“ten times”) + annus (“year”) + -is (suffix forming compound adjectives). Equivalent to decennial + -ium.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: decennium
Suffix: decennial

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /dɪˈsɛnɪəm/

Inflected Forms

decenniums (plural) decennia (plural)

Derived Forms

decennal decenniad

Frequently Paired Words

decennial decennially

Synonyms

decade decennary

Questions

How do you pronounce decennium?: The recorded pronunciation is /dɪˈsɛnɪəm/.
What does decennium mean?: Synonym of decade: a ten year period.
Where does decennium come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce decennium

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “decennium”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dɪˈsɛnɪəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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