sexennium

English

Etymology

From Latin sexennium, from sexennis (“6-year”) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /sɛkˈsɛniəm/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sɛkˈsɛnɪəm/

Noun

sexennium (plural sexenniums or sexennia)

1. A period of six years.

   Coordinate terms: annum, biennium, triennium, quadrennium, quinquennium, septennium, octennium, novennium, decennium, vicennium, tricennium, centennium, quincentennium, millennium, decamillennium, centimillennium, millionennium

Synonyms

• sexennate

Hypernyms

• See sextet

Related terms

• (adj.) sexennial

References

• “sexennium, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.

Latin

Etymology

From sexennis (“of six years”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /sekˈsen.ni.um/, [s̠ɛkˈs̠ɛnːiʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /sekˈsen.ni.um/, [seɡˈzɛnːium]

Noun

sexennium n (genitive sexenniī or sexennī); second declension

1. A period or span of six years.

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	sexennium	sexennia
genitive	sexenniī sexennī1	sexenniōrum
dative	sexenniō	sexenniīs
accusative	sexennium	sexennia
ablative	sexenniō	sexenniīs
vocative	sexennium	sexennia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Related terms

• (adjective): sexennālis
• (2-year period): biennium
• (3-year period): triennium
• (4-year period): quadrennium
• (5-year period): quīnquennium
• (7-year period): septennium

Descendants

• → Catalan: sexenni
• → English: sexennium
• → Italian: sessennio
• → Spanish: sexenio

References

• “sexennium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sexennium”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sexennium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.