What Is Fortnight?
A fortnight is a unit of time that means exactly two weeks. This is the same as 14 days in a row. People use it to talk about dates, work shifts, school plans, or when money is paid, such as rent or wages.
Definition
A fortnight is a fixed length of time.
- 1 fortnight = 14 days
- 1 fortnight = 2 weeks
- 1 fortnight = 14 days × 24 hours per day = 336 hours
- 1 fortnight = 336 hours × 60 minutes per hour = 20,160 minutes
- 1 fortnight = 20,160 minutes × 60 seconds per minute = 1,209,600 seconds
It is not an official SI unit of time like the second, but it is a well known traditional word in English.
History / Origin
The word fortnight comes from old English words that meant ‘fourteen nights’. Long ago, people in England often counted time in nights instead of days. Fourteen nights in a row is the same as two weeks, so the name stayed.
Over many centuries, the word was shortened and changed in spelling until it became the modern word fortnight. It has been used in English for hundreds of years in speech, books, and official records.
Symbol & Abbreviation
There is no single official symbol for a fortnight, and in most writing the full word is used. In some notes or tables, people may write:
- fortn. as a short form
- fn or ftn in some technical or local uses
These short forms are not standard everywhere. To avoid confusion, it is best to write the full word fortnight, especially in school work or formal writing.
Current Use Around the World
Fortnight is common in many English speaking countries, especially:
- United Kingdom and Ireland
- Australia and New Zealand
- South Africa
- Parts of India and other Commonwealth countries
In these places, people often say things like:
- ‘I get paid every fortnight.’
- ‘The class meets once a fortnight.’
- ‘Rent is due fortnightly.’
In the United States and Canada, the word fortnight is understood by many people but is not often used in daily speech. Instead, people more often say ‘two weeks’ or ‘every other week’.
Example Conversions
Here are some simple conversions using fortnights and other time units.
- 1 fortnight = 14 days
- 1 fortnight = 2 weeks
- 2 fortnights = 4 weeks = about 1 month
- 3 fortnights = 6 weeks = 42 days
- 4 fortnights = 8 weeks = 56 days
- 1 fortnight ≈ 0.46 of an average month (because an average month is about 30.4 days)
In hours, minutes, and seconds:
- 1 fortnight = 336 hours
- 1 fortnight = 20,160 minutes
- 1 fortnight = 1,209,600 seconds
Example in real life:
- If you start homework on Monday and it is due in a fortnight, it will be due on the Monday two weeks later.
- If you are paid 500 dollars each fortnight, then in 4 weeks you will earn 1,000 dollars.
Related Units
Other time units that are closely related to a fortnight include:
- Day the basic unit of 24 hours
- Week 7 days, so 2 weeks equals 1 fortnight
- Month usually 28 to 31 days, so about 2 fortnights is a bit less than most months
- Year 12 months or about 26 fortnights
The words weekly, biweekly, and fortnightly are also related:
- Weekly happens once every week
- Biweekly can mean either twice a week or once every two weeks, so this word can be confusing
- Fortnightly always means once every fortnight, so once every two weeks
FAQs
Q: How many days are in a fortnight?
A: There are exactly 14 days in a fortnight.
Q: Is a fortnight the same as two weeks?
A: Yes. One fortnight is the same length as two weeks. The words have the same meaning in terms of time.
Q: Why is it called a fortnight?
A: The word comes from old English words that meant ‘fourteen nights’. People used to count time by nights, and fourteen nights became known as a fortnight.
Q: What does fortnightly mean?
A: Fortnightly means something happens once every fortnight, so once every two weeks. For example, a fortnightly payment is paid every two weeks.
Q: Do scientists use the unit fortnight?
A: In most scientific work, people use seconds, minutes, hours, days, or years. A fortnight is mainly used in everyday language, not in formal science.
Q: Is fortnight used in the United States?
A: Some people in the United States know the word, but it is not very common in daily speech. Most people say ‘two weeks’ instead of ‘a fortnight’.
Q: How many fortnights are in a year?
A: There are about 26 fortnights in a year, because 52 weeks in a year divided by 2 weeks per fortnight equals 26.