octogenarian
/ˌɑktəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.16 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
6
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Synonym of eightysomething: a person between 80 and 89 years old.
adj
Of or related to eightysomethings.
Example Sentences
- "Mama was by no means the only grandma present, for the octogenarians had turned out en masse from their huts and lean-tos and were paddling about, diving and splashing as unconcernedly as though they really belonged in the sea rather than on land."
- "Finsbury Park station, one of the most important L.N.E.R. suburban junctions, is now an octogenarian."
- "To replace logarithmic tables with natural tables required some time. This seems like a modern age, yet I am not an octogenarian and I can remember the dying gasp of the logarithmic table as the standard method of computation. I have seen the desk calculator become a necessary instrument for every scientist who is doing quantitative work."
- "First up for recriminations may be President Biden. What if the octogenarian had stuck to his original suggestion that he’d be a “bridge” president – i.e., a one-termer – and announced he wouldn’t run for a second term early last year, allowing for a proper primary competition among the next generation of Democratic leaders?"
Etymology
From Latin octōgēnārius + -an (suffix forming adjectives and representative nouns), either directly or via French octogénaire, from Latin octōgēnus (“80 each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from octōgintā (“eight tens, 80”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: octōgēnārius, octogénaire, octōgēnus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɑktəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/
- British English: /ˌɒktəd͡ʒɪˈnɛəɹɪən/