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"decade" in seven languages

Meaningdecade

Spanish

década

/ˈdekada/

fem.other source · Latin DECAS, from Greek dekás 'group of ten'

French

décennie

/desɛni/

fem.learned

Careful French keeps décade for a ten-day period.

Italian

decennio

/deˈtʃɛnnjo/

masc.learned

Portuguese

década

/ˈdɛkadɐ/

fem.other source · Latin DECAS, from Greek dekás 'group of ten'

Romanian

deceniu

/deˈtʃenju/

neut.learned

Catalan

dècada

/ˈdɛkədə/

fem.other source · Latin DECAS, from Greek dekás 'group of ten'

Decenni, the direct heir of DECENNIUM, also exists.

English

decade

/ˈdɛkeɪd/

other source · French décade, from Greek dekás 'group of ten'

English → ItaliandecadedecennioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: decennial, annual, biennial.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

DECENNIUM‘period of ten years (DECEM + ANNUS)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Two ways to count ten years: French and Italian use Latin DECENNIUM 'ten years', Spanish and English the Greek dekás 'a group of ten'.

English relatives: decennial, annual, biennial

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In a sentence

  • esLos precios se han duplicado en una década.
  • frLes prix ont doublé en une décennie.
  • itI prezzi sono raddoppiati in un decennio.
  • ptOs preços dobraram em uma década.
  • roPrețurile s-au dublat într-un deceniu.
  • caEls preus s'han doblat en una dècada.
  • enPrices have doubled in a decade.

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