Bimillenaries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Comprising two thousand years or a duration equating to two millennia
2. Representing events or periods that occur at intervals of two thousand years
3. Pertaining to historical or cultural milestones spanning a period of two millennia

Etymology: "Bimillenaries" is simply the plural of "bimillenary," an adjective-turned-noun formed by attaching the prefix "bi-" ("two") to "millenary," which itself comes from the Latin "millenarius," meaning "consisting of a thousand" (from "mille," thousand). A bimillenary is therefore a span of two thousand years, or the two-thousandth anniversary of some event, and the plural names those recurring intervals. The construction is transparent, which makes it a useful example of how English builds numerical terms: "bi-" stacks onto an existing "millenary" rather than requiring a fresh coinage. The word is most often heard in discussions of anniversaries such as the bimillenary of a famous birth or founding, where celebrations are marked at exact two-thousand-year intervals.