Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “biennial” come from?

Biennial comes from Latin biennium, formed from Latin duo meaning two and Latin annus meaning year, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ meaning two.

biennial (English): Happening every two years; Lasting for two years;...

Definitions

  1. Happening every two years; Lasting for two years;...

Ancestry of “biennial”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinbienniumbiennium; genitive masculine plural of biennis;...
2Latinannusyear; time; season
3Proto-Italicatnosyear
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂et-no-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂et-grass

Words derived from “biennial”

  • biennially
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂et- →