Canadian Josiah Hein currently resides in Australia and has gone ‘viral’ for his bewilderment at the word ‘fortnight’
He cannot fathom how we use the word ‘fortnight’ or ‘fortnightly’ instead of saying ‘fourteen days’ or ‘two weeks’ or ‘every two weeks’. He compared the use of the word to something you’d find in Harry Potter.
‘Fortnight’ has historical roots, descending from the Old English term ‘fēowertīene niht’ which literally denotes ‘fourteen nights.’ Anglo-Saxons used to measure the gap between a full moon and a new moon.
British-influenced countries such New Zealand and South Africa, and Australia, are comfortable with the term, but not so North Americans post-1880, even though they too were colonised by the British.
Surprised? So, too, were many Australians who never realised ‘fortnight’ wasn’t a universal term. Me included.
What’s the strangest word other countries use that we don’t? Is fortnight such a strange word? Does it warrant this type of reaction?
.
