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Where does the word "decade" come from? It comes from Greek deka, and was adopted directly into English (1590s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "decade" come from? It comes from Greek deka, and was adopted directly into English (1590s).
Decade’s story begins in Greek: deka meant “ten.” Ten, the root of a group of ten. It reached English by 1590s as decade. Settled as the English word for a period of ten years. Today, decade means a period of ten years.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient deka "ten", ten, the root of a group of ten.
- Stage 2 · English · 1590s decade "a period of ten years", settled as the English word for a period of ten years.