If you’re a gaming fanatic, you’ve likely heard about the incredibly popular video game called Fortnite.

A world of many experiences, this survival game is one where players from around the globe compete to be the last player — or group — standing. That said, do you know what the word fortnight (or the proper spelling, “fortnight”) means? Not to worry; we’re here to help!

In this article, we’re exploring the term fortnight to uncover its definition, origin, synonyms, and more. So, if you’ve ever wondered what this interesting word means or how to use it properly in a sentence — keep reading.

What Is the Definition of Fortnight?

According to the Collins Dictionary, a fortnight (ˈfɔːt.naɪt, ˈfɔːtnaɪt) is a period of fourteen consecutive days or two weeks.

In the English language, we have other related words to “fortnight,” such as sennight — which is just another word for a one-week period of time.

What Is the Etymology of Fortnight?

Fortnight — which was first noted in the 17 century — is a contraction of Middle English fourtenight. It is also a derivative of Old English fēowertēne niht, meaning “fourteen nights” or “fourteen days,” since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights.

What Are the Synonyms and Antonyms of Fortnight?

One excellent technique for improving your existing vocabulary and overall understanding of a new term is to learn synonyms and antonyms, which can be found in a thesaurus.

Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meanings, while antonyms are words that convey opposite meanings.

Synonyms

Two weeks
Twice a month
Half-month
Fourteen nights
A period of 14 days
Once every two weeks
Twice monthly
Bi-weekly
Fourteen days
14 days
Period

Antonyms

Overtime
Work time
Downtime
Day
Regulation time
Thirty days
Whole month

How Can You Use Fortnight in a Sentence?

To many American English speakers, a fortnight sounds like it comes from a distant time, long, long ago. But the truth is that our word of the day is very useful in today’s day and age — which is why it still has use in British English and other forms of English around the globe.

Wondering how you can incorporate the word fortnight into your everyday spoken language? Check out these sentence examples listed below:

It would be an incredible miracle if we were able to get this vehicle up and running within the next fortnight!

My family spent the last fortnight in New York.

Some kids need an entire month to prepare, whereas others only require a fortnight.

To celebrate our honeymoon, we spent an entire fortnight away on our own.

A fortnight may not seem very long, but it will give you a sufficient amount of time to prepare.

My grandmother had four accidents in the past fortnight, so I made the decision to have her move in with me.

It’s hard not to feel rejuvenated after spending a fortnight in the Maldives.

I gave notice that I’ll be leaving the company in a fortnight.

Honestly, when I returned home after a fortnight’s holiday, I felt sort of bamboozled since I had to return to work straight from the airport.

Jim is going on vacation for a fortnight and asked me to ask you if you’d watch his dogs while he is away.

The sky in Alaska has been unbelievably breathtaking this past fortnight, so be sure to bring your camera on the cruise!

Sure, you can stay for a week, but if you remain for a fortnight, the hotel may offer a huge discount.

When was the last time you spoke to mom? She says that she hasn’t heard from you in a fortnight.

If you win first place, you’ll get a fortnight in Brazil — all-inclusive.

Any ideas on how much it might cost to rent a car for a fortnight in Japan?

We spent a fortnight in Paris looking at all the sights.

Although we played the video game for a fortnight, we couldn’t get past the seemingly impenetrable boss.

My cousins stayed with us for a fortnight.

What Are Translations of Fortnight?

Now that you understand what our word of the day means, you might be interested in learning how to say it in a different language. Here are some common translations of fortnight:

British English — fortnight
Dutch — twee weken
European Spanish — quincena
Finnish — kaksi viikkoa
French — quinze jours
German — zwei Wochen or vierzehn Tage
Brazilian Portuguese — quinzena
Chinese (simplified) — 两星期
Croatian — dva tjedna
Czech — čtrnáct dní
Danish — fjorten dage
Spanish — quincena or quince días
Swedish — två veckor
Thai — ปักษ์, สองสัปดาห์
Turkish — on dört gün
Japanese — 二週間
Korean — 2주일간
Norwegian — fjorten dager
Polish — dwa tygodnie
European Portuguese — quinzena or quince días
Romanian — două săptămâni
Russian — две недели
Ukrainian — два тижні
Vietnamese — nửa tháng
American English — two weeks
Arabic — أُسْبُوعَان
Greek — δεκαπενθήμερο
Italian — due settimane

What’s the Difference Between Fortnight and Fortnite?

Many people use the word Fortnite interchangeably with the word fortnight, but this is a grammatical error. Why? Because Fortnite and fortnight do not mean the same thing.

You see, fortnight — pronounced “fohrt-neyet” — is a noun that means a two-week period of 14 days. It’s an old English term that is most commonly used in the UK.

On the other hand, Fortnite — pronounced “fohrt-neyet” — is a proper noun and is the name of a very popular web-based video game created by Epic Games that was introduced to the market in 2017.

Bottom Line

So, what’s the word “fortnight” mean, you ask?

Simply put, a fortnight is a two-week period of time. It comes from Middle English fortnight and is commonly used today by many English speakers around the world.

Sources:

Fortnight definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

FORTNIGHT: definition | The Cambridge English Dictionary

What Is The Difference Between “Fortnite” And “Fortnight”? | Dictionary.com

Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.