A fortnight is a period of 14 days or two weeks. It comes from the Old English word feowertyne niht, meaning 'fourteen nights'. The fortnight is a common term in Great Britain and other countries that use the British English language. However, it is not used as often in other places such as the United States. If you are curious about how long is a fortnight, this article will help to explain what it means and give some examples of when you might use the word.
There are 26 fortnights in a year made up of 52 weeks. In terms of length, a fortnight is slightly longer than a week which is why many people get confused about this word. It is important to know how long is a fortnight so that you can correctly use it in your daily life.
One of the most common uses of this word is in the phrase 'in a fortnight' which means in two weeks time. For example, you might say something like, "I'll call you again in a fortnight."
In English there is also another word for a period of 14 days which is spelled sennight. This word is not used as much as fortnight but it can be seen in books such as Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'.
The fortnight is a useful word because it allows us to describe the passage of time in a precise way that we can understand. It is not a common word in the United States but you may encounter it when travelling to countries that use the British English language or if you read a lot of classic novels written by authors such as Jane Austen.