It seems weird to me that this word exists, yet there's no single word for other seemingly arbitrary periods of time, like two days, or three weeks, or two months for example.
And by the way, are etymology questions acceptable here? It's a kind of history, right?
Firstly, as most people already know, "fortnight" is a modern contraction of an Old English phrase: "fēowertyne niht" ("fourteen night").
The question is why is there a specific word for this seemingly arbitrary period of time?
Well, it's not an arbitrary period of time. It's based on an astronomical cycle just as much as a day or a year or a month are.
The Coligny tablet shows a Gaulish calendar with each lunar cycle being divided into two fourteen-night cycles, between the full moon and the new moon, and the new moon and the full moon. This calendar is estimated to date back to approximately 200AD. From this we see that fourteen nights was not an arbitrary period to the ancient Gauls: it's half a lunar cycle, as measured from a new moon to a full moon, and from a full moon to a new moon.
Well, Jane Austen mentioned a Senight (7 nights), so it isn't quite unique. Could fortnight be popular today because it was mentioned in Shakespeare?
I'm asking, not telling, just to be clear.
Just a reminder for all those who may or may not post in this thread - please remember to meet the standards we uphold here. If your answer consists of one sentence, it will be deleted. If you're spouting a theory of yours, it will be deleted. If you block quote wikipedia, it'll be deleted. Remember our rules as well :)
Thanks again!
