fortnight

fort·night

(fôrt′nīt′)

A period of 14 days; two weeks.

[Middle English fourtenight, alteration of fourtene night, fourteen nights : Old English fēowertēne, fourteen; see k^wetwer- in Indo-European roots + Old English niht, night; see nok^wt- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fortnight

(ˈfɔːtˌnaɪt)

a period of 14 consecutive days; two weeks

[Old English fēowertīene niht fourteen nights]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fort•night

(ˈfɔrtˌnaɪt, -nɪt)

n.

a period of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.

[before 1000; Middle English fourtenight, contraction of Old English fēowertēne niht; see fourteen, night]

fortnight

In British English, two weeks is often called a fortnight.

I went to Rothesay for a fortnight.

He borrowed it a fortnight ago.

American speakers do not usually use this word.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

fortnight - a period of fourteen consecutive days; "most major tennis tournaments last a fortnight"

two weeks

period, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period"

Translations

أسبوعانأُسْبُوعَان

quinzena

čtrnáct dnídva týdny

fjorten dage

vierzehn Tage zwei Wochen

δεκαπενθήμερο

quincena

kaksi viikkoa

quinzaine quinze jours

dva tjedna

két hét

tvær vikurfjórtán dagarhálfur mánuður

due settimane quindicina bisettimanalmente

二週間

2주일간

dvi savaitėsdvisavaitiniskas dvi savaitės

divas nedēļas

štrnásť dní

dva tedna

två veckor

สองอาทิตย์

iki haftaon dört gün

nửa tháng

两星期

fortnight

[ˈfɔːtnaɪt] N (Brit) → quince días mpl, quincena f
a fortnight (from) today → de hoy en quince días

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fortnight

[ˈfɔː^rtnaɪt] n (British) → quinze jours mpl
I'm going on holiday for a fortnight → Je pars en vacances pendant quinze jours.
I hope to be back in a fortnight → J'espère être de retour dans quinze jours.
It's a fortnight since → Il y a quinze jours que ...
in the past fortnight → au cours des derniers quinze jours
a fortnight's holiday → quinze jours de vacances

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

fortnight

n (esp Brit) → vierzehn Tage, zwei Wochen; a fortnight’s holiday → zwei Wochen or vierzehn Tage Urlaub

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

fortnight

[ˈfɔːtˌnaɪt] n (Brit) → quindici giorni mpl, quindicina di giorni, due settimane fpl
to go on a fortnight's holiday → fare due settimane di vacanza
a fortnight (from) today → oggi a quindici
it's a fortnight since ... → sono due settimane da quando...

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

fortnight

(ˈfoːtnait) noun

two weeks. It's a fortnight since I last saw her.

ˈfortnightly adjective, adverb

every fortnight. a fortnightly visit; He is paid fortnightly.

fortnight

→ أُسْبُوعَان čtrnáct dní fjorten dage zwei Wochen δεκαπενθήμερο quincena kaksi viikkoa quinze jours dva tjedna due settimane 二週間 2주일간 twee weken fjorten dager dwa tygodnie quinzena две недели två veckor สองอาทิตย์ on dört gün nửa tháng 两星期

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

A fortnight's acquaintance is certainly very little.

View in context

Ever since that leave of absence had expired, more than a fortnight before, Natasha had been in a constant state of alarm, depression, and irritability.

View in context

"One of their vessels sails for America, from the port of London, in a fortnight, touching at Plymouth.

View in context

But when a fortnight had passed they began to feel a little surprise that Hetty did not return; she must surely have found it pleasanter to be with Dinah than any one could have supposed.

View in context

"Yes,--not for good and all, of course, but just for, say, a fortnight, just a fortnight of rambles and adventures, and then to deliver me safe home again where you found me--"

View in context

It chanced one day, as he was strolling down Market Street on the eve of his fortnight's holiday, that his eye was caught by certain railway bills, and in very idleness of mind he calculated that he might be home for Christmas if he started on the morrow.

View in context

You leave your good father, my dear, in hands as earnest and as loving as your own; he shall be taken every conceivable care of; during the next fortnight, while you are in Warwickshire and thereabouts, even Tellson's shall go to the wall (comparatively speaking) before him.

View in context

The day of our departure being come, I took leave of his highness, the Governor of Glubbdubdrib, and returned with my two companions to Maldonada, where, after a fortnight's waiting, a ship was ready to sail for Luggnagg.

View in context

Paul spent his first fortnight with his grandmother Irving in Avonlea.

View in context

Her whole happiness seemed at stake, while the affair was in suspense, and everything secured when it was determined that the lodgings should be taken for another fortnight. What this additional fortnight was to produce to her beyond the pleasure of sometimes seeing Henry Tilney made but a small part of Catherine's speculation.

View in context

We had come out for a fortnight's enjoyment on the river, and a fortnight's enjoyment on the river we meant to have.

View in context

Weston's confidence, she could not think it so very impossible that the Churchills might not allow their nephew to remain a day beyond his fortnight. But this was not judged feasible.