Can anybody tell me why we call two weeks "A fortnight" please.?
2006-12-08 06:54:24 · 12 answers · asked by Loo 4 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Television
yes.... it means 14 nights..as everyone says
it comes from the 1700,s when soldiers spent a rotation of,
you guessed it, 14 nights at any one "fort" or post
hence you would do" fortnights"
2006-12-08 07:07:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A fortnight is a unit of time equal to two weeks: that is 14 days, or literally 14 nights. The term is common in the British Isles and many Commonwealth countries, but rarely used in the United States. It derives from the Old English feowertiene niht, meaning "fourteen nights".
2006-12-08 06:58:15 · answer #2 · answered by Abi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A fortnight is a unit of time equal to two weeks: that is 14 days, or literally 14 nights. The term is common in the British Isles and many Commonwealth countries, but rarely used in the United States. It derives from the Old English feowertiene niht, meaning "fourteen nights".
2006-12-08 06:57:48 · answer #3 · answered by stone 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It derives from the Old English feowertiene niht, meaning "fourteen nights
2006-12-08 06:58:55 · answer #4 · answered by grahamralph2000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
14 nights.
2006-12-08 07:08:06 · answer #5 · answered by valedictorian13 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortnight
2006-12-08 06:57:20 · answer #6 · answered by Question Addict 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's short for "fourteen nights".
2006-12-08 14:23:21 · answer #7 · answered by Rachel O 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you reckon people on here use wikipedia a lot, so why don't the persons asking the questions.
2006-12-08 07:02:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because it's FOURTeen days
2006-12-08 11:47:34 · answer #9 · answered by Mark 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some old english bastards that can't pronounce stuff very well!
2006-12-08 07:01:49 · answer #10 · answered by jagerbombmeister 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋