French word

demi-siècle

Pronunciation

IPA/dəmisjɛkl/

Meaning

  • masculine nounhalf-century

Example

Le projet a duré un demi-siècle.

The project lasted half a century.

Illustration for demi-siècle (half-century)

More examples

Cette tradition existe depuis un demi-siècle.

This tradition has existed for half a century.

Core concept

A rounded fifty-year span on a timeline, viewed as a duration or as the distance from an earlier event to now.

Common phrases

  • depuis un demi-siècle

    for half a century

  • il y a un demi-siècle

    half a century ago

Similar words

cinquantaine: A span of approximately fifty years.
cinquante ans: A period lasting exactly fifty years.
siècle: A period of one hundred years.

Definition in French

S'utilise pour situer un événement à quelque cinquante ans dans le passé ou pour désigner une période d'environ cinquante ans.

Word origin

The compound demi-siècle joins demi, from Latin dimidius, and siècle, which developed through Old French from Latin saeculum.

Usage tips

  • In demi-siècle, demi stays unchanged before the noun, while siècle takes the plural: deux demi-siècles.

Word lists with this word