decade English · revision 4715

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1451|origins=grc δεκάς}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdek.eɪd/, /dekˈeɪd/, /dɪˈkeɪd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|décade]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la-lat|decas]], accusative decadem,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|δεκάς|tr=dekás|t=group of ten]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from déka “ten”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*déḱm̥|alt=*dekm-|t=ten]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[ten]], [[decimal]] and [[decimate]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A group of ten things, originally the divisions of Livy's history into ten books each: the mid-15th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) probably about 1451 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's first quotation for a division of a literary work is 1475.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A set or series of ten in general is from 1594.^(OED 1989) The meaning “a period of ten years” is attested by the 1590s in Etymonline and 1605 in Barnhart and the OED,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) but it did not become the main sense until the 19th century.^(Etymonline) In the French Republican calendar a décade was a period of ten days that replaced the week (1798).^(OED 1989) A division of the rosary, ten Hail Marys, keeps the stress on the first syllable, /ˈdek.əd/.^(Roach et al. 2011)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1451 – a group of ten.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1475 – a ten-part division of a book.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1594 – any set of ten.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1605 – a period of ten years.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1798 – the ten-day week of the French Republic.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A period of ten [[year]]s, especially one such as 1990–1999.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A group or series of ten.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(Roman Catholic)'' A section of the [[rosary]] of ten Hail Marys.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[decadal]]

+ * [[decadelong]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ten]]

+ * [[decimal]]

+ * [[decimate]]

+ * [[decagon]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The usual British pronunciation stresses the first syllable, but second-syllable stress is also heard.^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}