Decade

For other senses of this word, see decade (disambiguation).

A decade is a period of ten years. The word is derived (via French) from the Late Latin decadem, accusative of decas, from Greek decas, from deca. The other words for spans of years also come from Latin: lustrum (5 years), century (100 years), millennium (1000 years). The term usually refers to a period of ten years in the calendar starting with 1 and ending in 10. For example, the second decade of the third millennium refers to 2011 through 2020. Despite the non-existence of the year zero it is nonetheless common to count a decade from 0 to 9, i.e. for example from 1950 to 1959 for "the 1950s". In English decade can also be used to specify any period of ten years. For example: "During his last decade, Mozart explored chromatic harmony to a degree rare at the time".

See also

• List of decades
• Century
• Millennium

References

• http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=decade