What Is Septennial?
Septennial is a time word. It describes something that happens every seven years, or something that continues for seven years in a row. If an event is septennial, it only comes around once in each seven year period.
Definition
Septennial is an adjective, a describing word. It has two closely linked meanings:
- Happening once every seven years, for example a septennial celebration.
- Lasting for seven years, for example a septennial term in an office or job.
The adverb form is septennially. This means “in a way that happens every seven years.” For example, “The report is written septennially” means the report is written once every seven years.
History / Origin
The word septennial comes from Latin. It is built from two Latin parts:
- septem which means “seven”
- -ennium which is used for a period of years, like in “biennium” for two years
These parts were combined in Late Latin as septennium, meaning “a period of seven years.” English later formed the describing word septennial from that idea.
English writings first used the word septennial in the 1600s. Since then, it has been used in history, law, and literature when people needed a clear word for a seven year period or a seven year cycle.
Symbol & Abbreviation
Septennial is mainly used as a regular word in sentences. It does not have a special official symbol in science or math.
In notes or short writing, people might show the same idea in these simple ways:
- 7 year or 7 yr to mean a period of seven years
- 7 yearly to mean happens every seven years
Sometimes, writers shorten the word itself to sept. in private notes, but this is not a standard or widely accepted abbreviation. To avoid confusion, it is best to write the full word septennial when you need this meaning.
Current Use Around the World
Today, septennial is not a common everyday word, but it is still used in careful writing and speech. You may see it in:
- Law and politics to talk about seven year terms for some offices or legal rules.
- Finance and business to describe plans, contracts, or reviews that last seven years or are checked every seven years.
- Science and nature studies to talk about cycles that repeat roughly every seven years, such as some insect life cycles or research surveys.
- Documentaries and media for projects that return to the same people or topic every seven years.
People in many English speaking countries understand the word, but they often use simpler phrases like “every seven years” instead. Septennial is more common in written English than in casual conversation.
Example Conversions
Because septennial is about time, we can convert one septennial period into other time units. Here, we will treat one year as 365 days to keep it simple.
- 1 septennial period = 7 years
- 1 septennial period = 84 months (7 years times 12 months per year)
- 1 septennial period = 2,555 days (7 years times 365 days per year)
- 1 septennial period = 365 weeks (2,555 days divided by 7 days per week)
We can also look at how often a septennial event happens compared to yearly events:
- If something happens annually, it happens once every year.
- If something happens septennially, it happens once every seven years.
- This means it is seven times less often than a yearly event.
Examples in sentences:
- “The committee does a septennial review of the school rules” means the review is done once every seven years.
- “He served a septennial term as president” means he was president for seven years in a row.
Related Units
Septennial fits into a family of time words that describe how often something happens. Here are some closely related terms:
- Annual happens every year, or lasts one year.
- Biennial happens every two years, or lasts two years.
- Triennial happens every three years, or lasts three years.
- Quadrennial happens every four years, or lasts four years.
- Quinquennial happens every five years, or lasts five years.
- Sexennial happens every six years, or lasts six years.
- Septennial happens every seven years, or lasts seven years.
- Octennial happens every eight years, or lasts eight years.
- Decennial happens every ten years, or lasts ten years.
All of these words help writers and speakers talk about repeated events and time periods in a clear and exact way.
FAQs
Q: What does septennial mean in simple words?
A: Septennial means “every seven years” or “lasting seven years.” It is used for events or time periods that are based on seven year spans.
Q: How long is a septennial period?
A: A septennial period is seven years long. That is about 84 months, or about 2,555 days if we count each year as 365 days.
Q: What does septennially mean?
A: Septennially is the adverb form of septennial. It means “in a way that happens every seven years.” For example, “The survey is done septennially” means it is done once every seven years.
Q: Is septennial the same as seven years?
A: Septennial is a describing word. It tells you that something is connected to seven years, either by lasting seven years or by happening once during each seven year period.
Q: Is septennial used in science or math?
A: Septennial is sometimes used in science to talk about seven year cycles, such as long term studies or natural patterns. It is not a standard math unit like a second or minute, but it is a useful time description.
Q: What is the opposite of septennial?
A: There is no true “opposite,” but shorter cycle words like annual or biennial describe events that happen more often than septennial ones. Longer cycle words like decennial describe events that happen less often.
Q: Why not just say “every seven years”?
A: People often do say “every seven years” in normal talk. Writers choose the word septennial when they want to sound more formal, precise, or when they are following a pattern of similar time words like annual and biennial.