Word of the Day

: December 19, 2009

quadrennial

adjective kwah-DREN-ee-ul

What It Means

1 : consisting of or lasting for four years

2 : occurring or being done every four years

quadrennial in Context

The 1990 U.S. soccer team was the first U.S team in 40 years to qualify for the championship tournament in the quadrennial World Cup.

Did You Know?

Most things "quadrennial" occur every four years (that's the more common use). We can say, for example, that the U.S. presidential election is a quadrennial event. But we can also say that president's term in office is quadrennial, making good use of the "lasting four years" sense. The Latin combining form "quadri-" adds a factor of four to many English words: "quadriceps" (the thigh muscle, which has four parts), "quadrilateral" (a four-sided polygon), "quadragenarian" (a person in his or her 40s), and "quadricentennial" (a 400th anniversary), to name a few. The "-ennial" part of "quadrennial" has the same root as in "biennial" and "centennial"; all trace back to "annus," the Latin word for "year."