Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Happening once every five years.
  • adjective Lasting for five years.
  • noun A fifth anniversary.
  • noun A period of five years.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Occurring once in five years.
  • Recurring in the fifth year, reckoning both years of occurrence; occurring every fourth year. See II., 2.
  • Lasting five years.
  • noun A period of five years; a quinquenniad; hence, something characterized by such a period or interval, as an anniversary, or a college catalogue.
  • noun A festival or celebration occurring once in four years; an anniversary in the fifth year.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Occurring once in five years, or at the end of every five years; also, lasting five years. A quinquennial event.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective that happens every five years
  • adjective that lasts for five years
  • noun a fifth anniversary
  • noun a five year period

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word quinquennial.

Examples

  • This festival was celebrated with spectacles and games of various kinds, which were called the quinquennial games, from the circumstance that the period for the celebration of them recurred once in five years.

    Nero Makers of History Series Jacob Abbott 1841

  • The general authority given to bishops directly by the pope, in the so-called quinquennial faculties, may be delegated by them to others since the Decree of 14 December, 1898 (Acta S.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson-Clairvaux 1840-1916 1913

  • The third and smallest incarnation of this quinquennial exhibition, born in 2000 at MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Center, aims to "be an inclusive, artist-driven exploration of New York City now" by presenting 68 lesser-known artists who live and work in the greater metropolitan area.

    Jelena Kristic: Exploring Greater New York 2010 Jelena Kristic 2010

  • All but four countries in the world are meeting in New York this month at the quinquennial Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to discuss the treaty's effectiveness.

    Solving Tokyo's Nuclear Conundrum George Perkovich 2010

  • My fear is that CMS will promulgate a specific new code that must be used to bill these quinquennial visits for discussion of end-of-life issues, and that certain specific topics must be discussed and documented in order for the visit to be paid.

    Archive 2009-07-01 1 Dinosaur 2009

  • My fear is that CMS will promulgate a specific new code that must be used to bill these quinquennial visits for discussion of end-of-life issues, and that certain specific topics must be discussed and documented in order for the visit to be paid.

    Medicare Micromanaging 1 Dinosaur 2009

  • Benchmark I-O accounts are prepared at 5-year intervals and are based on detailed data from quinquennial economic censuses conducted by the Bureau of the Census.

    New: Business Research: Detailed Tool for Industry Analysis is Now Available « ResourceShelf 2007

  • In the 1962 quinquennial revision of the tax arrangements, the share of PIT entering the equalization formula was increased to 16 percent with an interim increase to 13 percent in 1958.

    Back to the future: an overview of Equalization Ed Hollett 2007

  • The Athenians, after the purification, celebrated, for the first time, the quinquennial festival of the Delian games.

    The History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides 2005

  • Meanwhile, escaping from the lynch mob, SecGen Annan presided over the quinquennial meeting of members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

    "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" Helen 2005

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • From Latin 'quinque' meaning five, -nnial expressing years

    October 6, 2007