English

Noun

decade ‎(plural decades)

1. A series or group of ten things. [from 16th c.]

   a decade of soldiers‎

2. An historical period of the ten years in which the beginning year ended in "0" and the ending year ended in "9".

   The 1960s was a turbulent decade.‎

3. Any given period of ten years. [from 17th c.]

   I haven't seen my cousin in over a decade!‎

   • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page viii

     The repeated exposure, over decades, to most taxa here treated has resulted in repeated modifications of both diagnoses and discussions, as initial ideas of the various taxa underwent—often repeated—conceptual modification.

   • 1979 December, “Museums”, in Texas Monthly, volume 7, number 12, page 22:

     Thru May: 1920s — The Decade That Roared. New exhibition portraying historical events and everyday life during the Roaring Twenties.

   • 2013 March 1, David S. Senchina, “Athletics and Herbal Supplements”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, page 134:

     Athletes' use of herbal supplements has skyrocketed in the past two decades.

4. (French historical) In the French Revolutionary calendar, a group of ten days. [from 18th c.]
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 481:

     The year was divided up into twelve months renamed after the seasons [...]; each month comprised three ‘decades’ of ten days – with the décadi replacing Sundays as a day of rest; and each day was reconsecrated to a natural product or farming tool or technique.

5. (Roman Catholicism) A series of ten Hail Marys in the rosary.
6. (physics, engineering) The interval between any two quantities having the ratio 10 to 1.

   There are decades between 1.8 and 18, between 25 and 250 and between 0.03 and 0.003.‎

7. Any of the sets of ten sequential braille characters with predictable patterns.

Usage notes

Although decade may be taken as any group of ten years, it is commonly restricted to the informal ten-year periods of the calendar whose last digits run from 0 to 9. In such contexts, decade refers to such calendar periods while decennium, decennary, &c. refers to ten-year periods in other contexts.

The period of a decade should be distinguished from centuries and millennia, which properly run from 1 to 0. That is, the 1st Century began in the year 1 and ended in the year 100, but "the Nineties" are the years whose name includes the word ninety, from '90 to '99.

Synonyms

• (10-year period; in some contexts): See decennium

Related terms

• (adj.): decadal
• (10-year period; adj.; in some contexts): See decennial

Translations

See also

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology

From French décade, cognate with German Dekade etc.

Noun

decade f ‎(plural decades or decaden, diminutive decadetje n)

1. A decade, period of ten years
2. (historical) A décade, 'week' of ten days in the French republican calendar; hence any ten consecutive days
3. A set of ten book volumes, as part of a larger opus

Synonyms

• (ten years): decennium, jaartien

Italian

Etymology

deca- +‎ -ade

Noun

decade f ‎(plural decadi)

1. a decade, a period of ten days

Related terms

• deca-
• decennio (ten years)

Verb

decade

1. third-person singular indicative present of decadere

Anagrams

• deceda

Latin

Noun

decāde

1. ablative singular of decās

References

• DECADE in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)

Middle French

Noun

decade f (plural decades)

1. a series of 10 books

References

• (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (decade, supplement)