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decade

decade

noun DEH-kah-deh Rare
Time Time Expressions

Origin: Latin decas, Greek dekas, 'a group of ten'

Also means

ten-day period

Usage Note

Decade in Italian most commonly means a period of ten days (e.g. in calendars or historical texts), not ten years — that is un decennio. This is a significant false friend for English speakers who expect decade to mean ten years. The plural is decadi (regular -e/-i). In informal modern Italian, however, decade is increasingly used loosely to mean ten years under English influence.

Examples

"Il pagamento avviene ogni decade del mese."

Natural Translation

Payment occurs every ten days of the month.

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