Quinquagenarians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Referring to individuals who are in their fifties
2. denoting a group of people whose ages range from 50 to 59 years
3. characterizing those who have reached the fifth decade of life

Etymology: "Quinquagenarians" is the plural of "quinquagenarian," a noun for a person who is in their fifties. The word is built from Latin "quīnquāgintā," meaning "fifty," which itself comes from "quinque," meaning "five," with the "-ginta" ending marking tens. From that base, Latin speakers formed "quīnquāgēnus," meaning "fifty each," and then "quinquagenarius," meaning "containing fifty." English took the word either directly from Latin or through French "quinquagénaire," and the form ends in "-an," an English suffix used to name people connected to a number or group. The result is a precise label for a decade of life, much like the comparable words for people in their forties or sixties.