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There’s an annoyingly technical reason for that. You take this story, peddle it to one of the big guys, I bet they’d pay you more than your biweekly salary. Here are a few of the more interesting language issues this copy editor came across last week. And when the same worker said his magazine that arrived six times a year was “bimonthly,” everyone knew what he meant. One can check verbs forms in different tenses.
So the end result was that they were paid for 26 weeks, the proper number of weeks in a year. As we stated in our Bi vs. Semi (weekly/monthly/annually) blog, the terms semiannual and biannual can cause tremendous confusion.
That leaves semi-anything to mean intervals of one-half units. That is the problem though; it doesn’t matter to enough people and the people for whom it does matter are seen as odd, compulsive or arrogant. In addition, a biweekly publication is issued every two weeks and a bimonthly publication is issued every two months. I agree with those who suggested “fortnightly.” If someone feels that it’s antiquated or “odd,” that is their problem!
We are unclear about whether you are saying in your first sentence that an historic is correct on both sides of the pond. We want to reiterate that a historic is correct in American usage. You bring up an interesting point regarding usage vs. definition. According to Merriam-Webster online, momentarily can be defined as either “for a moment” or “in a moment.” We Americans use the latter definition while the former is the usage in Britain. Yes, this site represents American English rules and guidelines. You’re correct about the American meaning of momentarily. That’s interesting to hear how it differs from its use in England.
As Adjectives The Difference Between Fortnightly And Biweekly
Nothing worse than getting the grammar wrong in a sarcastic reply to someone correcting another person’s grammar. What I don’t understand is the dictionary defines ‘bi-annual’ as twice a year.
Combining the two would just add to the confusion. The word quarterly is clear and uncomplicated. I don’t think words have devolved, I think people, specifically our literacy and attention to detail have devolved.
Languages
Now, before you claim your camp in the war for linguistic superiority, note that the discussions here have been quite lively… linguistically speaking, that is of supreme importance. We, fortunately, IMHO, are dealing with a living language and this is but one evidence of how truly alive it is. Languages suffocate and die under conquerors, dictators, and other extreme duress. Yes, adults will complain of leet just as vehemently as teenagers will complain of Shakespeare, but rest assured that if your language is living and breathing, the people who use it are as well! I understand the dictionary allows two meanings.
- Their dual meanings most certainly cause much confusion.
- But look at this, biweekly would mean both this week AND the other…two.
- However, we are not contributing to an erroneous usage when we use the prefix ‘bi’ to mean twice in a time period.
- The best solution, then, is to avoid using any of the bi- words unless their meaning is absolutely clear from context.
The true answer, I believe, is not in the placement of bi or semi prefix; both are equally ambiguous. Hence dissertations on the meaning of the prefix are meaningless. The answer, rather, lies in the meaning of the suffix “ly”. It is one thing to acknowledge that a lot of people mis-use a word and therefore the well educated must be cautious when using that word around the less well educated. However, it is a wholly different thing to just cave in and say “the word by has taken on both meanings.” That is a cop out. The only way it was allowed to take on both meanings is because some set of “authorities” caved in and said it’s okay, it has now taken on both meanings. At exactly what point does mis-use become okay?
Words Often Confused With Biweekly
The prefix bi- has a fixed meaning and the prefix semi- has a fixed meaning and authorities are sometimes wrong. Bi-monthly has only one correct definition and that is every two months. The interpretation retained earnings balance sheet of bi-monthly as twice per month might be officially accepted but it is still wrong. Since 2 never equals 1/2, then bi-monthly can never have the same meaning as semi-monthly.
Because weeks are of fixed length and months are not, bi-weekly (ie. every two week) publications can’t possibly fall on the 1st and 15th of every month. Semi-monthly should have been applied in this instance.
Besides the ambiguity of the words “bi-weekly” or “bi-monthly,” I think that they are esthetically ugly and artificial words that detract from the English language. I like to keep my Latin and Germanic mixing to a minimum. Try “twice weekly,” if “fortnightly” doesn’t do it for you.
I think the word fortnight is familiar to many, even in the US. However, if there is already language barrier in play, it may better to err on the side of clarity. Unless “fortnight” is commonly used in your environment, better to use some variation of “every other week” instead. However, my colleagues talk about having meetings biweekly. This causes a lot of confusion, since it can mean either once every two weeks or twice a week. There are obviously specific signs for many words available in sign language that are more appropriate for daily usage.
That clarifies that “bi” means an interval of two units, whatever they are weeks, months, years, etc.). That leaves “semi” to mean intervals of one-half units, or twice per unit. By the recording transactions way, there are some terms for which it really does matter. Try making the incorrect substitution for terms like bipedal (?semipedal), bicycle (?semicycle), or bipolar (?semipolar).
The confusion is easy to explain if you think of it in terms of period and frequency and ambiguous association of the word parts. Neither, however, is worse than taking the trouble to look for grammar errors in the previous ridiculous sentence and then realizing that that’s how you just spent your valuable time. For example, most people get paid bi-weekly but my company pays me semi-monthly . One isn’t better than the other, but I’m VERY aware of the difference. Personally I prefer semi-monthly paychecks; bills, rent, etc are all monthly expenses, and the bi-weekly schedule for paychecks ensure they often don’t match up with incoming expenses. If it’s “once every two weeks”, that’s equal to twice every FOUR weeks, not every week.
Adjective
In astronomy, a lunar fortnight is half a lunar synodic month, equivalent to the mean period between a full moon and a new moon . The easiest way to get more specific about times is to just embrace it. When you’re messaging friends, use the 24-hour time. If they seem confused, stick the backwards, out-of-date 12-hour equivalent in brackets along with a suitably scathing emoji. And if you want to make sure that it becomes second-nature to you, like it is to most of the world, set your smartphone and computer to use the 24-hour clock.
Thesaurus Entries Near Biweekly
Bisect is a verb meaning to divide something into two equal parts. Sect, to cut, looks to bi- to determine how many parts should be the result, not how many times the cutting should take place. biweekly synonym But make no mistake, -sect does the cutting once, not bi-. It’s unfortunate the bi- words discussed above have lost concrete meanings. Their dual meanings most certainly cause much confusion.
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Browse other questions tagged single-word-requests word-choice ambiguity recurring-events or ask your own question. Earn 10 reputation in order to answer this question. The reputation requirement helps protect this question from spam and non-answer activity. A biannual event could take place twice a year or every other year (2019, 2021, etc.). Honestly, we don’t even know ledger account what time it is, anymore. DisclaimerAll content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
How To Say Biweekly In Sign Language?
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate image within your search results please use this form to let us know, and we’ll take care of it shortly. You can pay biweekly manually or sign up with your lender for a biweekly payment plan. It was not until about 1644 that a weekly conveyance of letters, by post, was established throughout that kingdom. According to a weekly paper not only is Constance Binney a famous screen star, but she is also a first-class ukelele player. Consequently an amendment may be made diminishing the weekly allowance to a member who is sick, and also the time of allowing it.
In many languages, there is no single word for a two-week period, and the equivalent terms “two weeks”, “14 days”, or “15 days” have to be used. There’s always going to be a certain amount of confusion when you talk about time. It’s an inherently nebulous concept, but if you’re super-specific in how you communicate, you can make life easier for everyone—and not be blamed when people get things wrong.