decade

Meaning

1. A group, set, or series of ten , particularly
2. A group, set, or series of ten
3. A period of ten years , particularly such a period beginning with a year ending in 0 and ending with a year ending in 9.
4. A period of ten days, particularly those in the ancient Egyptian, Coptic, and French Revolutionary calendars.
5. A work in ten parts or books, particularly such divisions of Livy's History of Rome.
6. A series of prayers counted on a rosary, typically consisting of an Our Father, followed by ten Hail Marys, and concluding with a Glory Be and sometimes the Fatima Prayer.
7. Any of the sets of ten sequential braille characters with predictable patterns.
8. A set of ten electronic devices used to represent digits.
9. A set of resistors, capacitors, etc. connected so as to provide even increments between one and ten times a base electrical resistance.
10. The interval between any two quantities having a ratio of 10 to 1.

Etymology / origin

From Middle English decade, from Old French decade, from Late Latin decādem (“(set of) ten”), from Ancient Greek δεκάς (dekás), from δέκα (déka, “ten”). In reference to a span of ten years, originally a clipping of the phrase decade of years. By surface analysis, dec- + -ade. Doublet of decad and dekad.

Related words

Descendant words

• decade(Dutch) (der)
• dekadi(Finnish) (cog)
• dekad(Malay) (uder)

Sources

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