French word

cinquantaine

Pronunciation

IPA/sɛ̃kɑ̃tɛn/

Meaning

  • feminine nounabout fifty

Example

Nous avons recruté une cinquantaine de bénévoles.

We recruited about fifty volunteers.

Illustration for cinquantaine (about fifty)

More examples

J'ai acheté une cinquantaine de brochures pour la foire.

I bought about fifty brochures for the fair.

Core concept

A counted cluster near fifty that can also label the decade of a person's fifties.

Common phrases

  • une cinquantaine de personnes

    about fifty people

  • une cinquantaine d'élèves

    about fifty students

Similar words

vingtaine: About twenty people or items considered as a group.
trentaine: About thirty people or items considered as a group.
quarantaine: About forty people or items considered as a group.

Definition in French

Indique une quantité approximative d'environ cinquante éléments et, avec l'article (la cinquantaine), peut désigner la classe d'âge des cinquante ans (ex. être dans la cinquantaine).

Word origin

The noun comes from French cinquante plus -aine, a suffix used for approximate numbers and groups, while the age meaning developed with the definite article la.

Usage tips

  • Une cinquantaine normally means about fifty things or people, whereas dans la cinquantaine means being in one's fifties.

Other meanings

  • fiftiesnoun

Related words

  • cinquantièmefiftiethadjective

Word lists with this word