Lustrum

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈlʌstɹəm/

Definitions

1. A five-year span that was notable in ancient Rome for conducting censuses and holding public festivities
2. The term signifies a five-year duration that played a key role in Roman societal and cultural events
3. A period of five years historically significant in Roman culture for its association with public celebrations and governmental assessments

Etymology: The Roman purification ceremony that gave this word its meaning was tied to the census. Every five years, the censors led a procession around the assembled citizens, sacrificing a pig, a sheep and a bull, and the rite was meant to cleanse the whole community. Because the ceremony closed a five-year cycle, the word came to name the span of time itself. A relief from the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, dating to about 122–115 BCE, shows the census being carried out alongside the lustrum ceremony in the centre of the panel. Latin "lustrum" is the source of the English word, and its underlying sense was that of a ritual purification or a ceremonial expiation. English adopted the term to refer to a five-year period, and it still appears in modern writing when someone wants to mark a span of five years without saying "quinquennium."

Synonyms: five years, quinquennial, period, duration, time frame