decade

B1 Topic:Time

US /ˈdɛkeɪd/ UK /ˈdɛkeɪd/ See IPA manual

Freq #6643

Meanings

1

noun
A period of ten years.

The town has changed dramatically over the past decade.
2

noun
A particular ten-year span, such as the 1960s.

The 1960s was a turbulent decade.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a period of ten years. decennium

Word family

Forms decades

Derived forms decade-longdecadefuldecadelongdecades-longdecadeslongdecadewisedecadistmultidecadequintadesemidecade

Related forms aughtsdecadalnoughtiestens zeroes zeros

Etymology

From Middle English decade, from Old French decade, from Late Latin decādem (“(set of) ten”), from Ancient Greek δεκάς (dekás), from δέκα (déka, “ten”). In reference to a span of ten years, originally a clipping of the phrase decade of years. By surface analysis, dec- + -ade. Doublet of decad and dekad.

decade Middle English decās la-lat δεκάς Ancient Greek

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# decade

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɛkeɪd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdɛkeɪd/
**Frequency rank:** 6643

## Meanings
1. A period of ten years.
2. A particular ten-year span, such as the 1960s.

## Examples
- The town has changed dramatically over the past decade.
- The 1960s was a turbulent decade.

## Derived Forms
- decade-long
- decadeful
- decadelong
- decades-long
- decadeslong
- decadewise
- decadist
- multidecade
- quintade
- semidecade

## Related Forms
- aughts
- decadal
- noughties
- tens
- zeroes
- zeros

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: decade
- Root: decās
- Root: δεκάς
- Affix: dec- - ten

## Etymology
From Middle English decade, from Old French decade, from Late Latin decādem (“(set of) ten”), from Ancient Greek δεκάς (dekás), from δέκα (déka, “ten”). In reference to a span of ten years, originally a clipping of the phrase decade of years. By surface analysis, dec- + -ade. Doublet of decad and dekad.

## AI Etymology
decade comes from Middle English decade, from Old French decade, from Late Latin decādem (“(set of) ten”), from Ancient Greek δεκάς (dekás), from δέκα (déka, “ten”). In reference to a span of ten years, originally a clipping of the phrase decade of years. By surface analysis, dec- + -ade. Doublet of decad and dekad. The historical chain includes Middle English decade, Old French decade, la-lat decās, Ancient Greek δεκάς. Current senses include A period of ten years and A particular ten-year span, such as the 1960s. English relatives and later formations include decade-long, decadeful, decadelong, aughts, decadal.

## Topics
- Time

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decade

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