adjective form of decade

[Al Smith]

I are a engineer.

Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to
describe something that happens only once in ten years.

[Loki Harfagr]

Post by Al Smith
I are a engineer.
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.
Remember that "decade" implies 10 *days* not 10 years
though many people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

BTW, you *are* an engineer but you'd better
not use the plural when alone ;-)

[Douglas Sederberg]

Post by Loki Harfagr

Post by Al Smith
I are a engineer.
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.
Remember that "decade" implies 10 *days* not 10 years
though many people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

If this usage is ill, it seems everyone in the USA is sick. I can't
think of a single instance where 'decade' has meant 10 days and not 10
years. It may be some official meaning, maybe in French, but if it does
mean 10 days, it's never used that way in ordinary English.
From an on-line dictionary:

DECADE (from Gr. ~ka, ten), a group or series containing ten members,
particularly a period of ten years. In the new calendar made at the
time of the French Revolution in 1793, a decade of ten days took the
place of the week. The word is also used of the divisions containing
ten books or parts into which the history of Livy was divided.

[Julien Pourtet]

Post by Douglas Sederberg

Post by Loki Harfagr

Post by Al Smith
I are a engineer.
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.
Remember that "decade" implies 10 *days* not 10 years
though many people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

If this usage is ill, it seems everyone in the USA is sick. I can't
think of a single instance where 'decade' has meant 10 days and not 10
years. It may be some official meaning, maybe in French, but if it does
mean 10 days, it's never used that way in ordinary English.
DECADE (from Gr. ~ka, ten), a group or series containing ten members,
particularly a period of ten years. In the new calendar made at the
time of the French Revolution in 1793, a decade of ten days took the
place of the week. The word is also used of the divisions containing
ten books or parts into which the history of Livy was divided.

I agree with you.

From online dictionaries:

"Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)"
Decade Dec"ade, n. F. d'ecade, L. decas, -adis, fr. Gr. ?,
fr. de`ka ten. See Ten.
A group or division of ten; esp., a period of ten years; a
decennium; as, a decade of years or days; a decade of
soldiers; the second decade of Livy. Written also decad.

During this notable decade of years. --Gladstone.

"WordNet (r) 2.0"
decade
n 1: a period of 10 years syn: decennary, decennium
2: the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the
base of the decimal system syn: ten, 10, X, tenner

Hope it helps :)

[Julien Pourtet]

Post by Douglas Sederberg

Post by Loki Harfagr

Post by Al Smith
I are a engineer.
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.
Remember that "decade" implies 10 *days* not 10 years
though many people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

If this usage is ill, it seems everyone in the USA is sick. I can't
think of a single instance where 'decade' has meant 10 days and not 10
years. It may be some official meaning, maybe in French, but if it does
mean 10 days, it's never used that way in ordinary English.
DECADE (from Gr. ~ka, ten), a group or series containing ten members,
particularly a period of ten years. In the new calendar made at the
time of the French Revolution in 1793, a decade of ten days took the
place of the week. The word is also used of the divisions containing
ten books or parts into which the history of Livy was divided.

Seems like both of you are right ;)

From online dictionaries:

"Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)"
Decade Dec"ade, n. F. d'ecade, L. decas, -adis, fr. Gr. ?,
fr. de`ka ten. See Ten.
A group or division of ten; esp., a period of ten years; a
decennium; as, a decade of years or days; a decade of
soldiers; the second decade of Livy. Written also decad.

During this notable decade of years. --Gladstone.

"WordNet (r) 2.0"
decade
n 1: a period of 10 years syn: decennary, decennium
2: the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the
base of the decimal system syn: ten, 10, X, tenner

Well it seems that "decade" is nowadays mostly used with the meaning of
"a group of ten years".

Hope it helps :)

[John of Aix]

Post by Loki Harfagr

Post by Al Smith
I are a engineer.
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.
Remember that "decade" implies 10 *days* not 10 years
though many people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

In French a decade is ten days strictly speaking and
a decan ten years, the exact opposite of English. The French are right as
'decade' comes from decadi (ten days) in Latin and decan from 'decanni'

[Douglas Sederberg]

Post by John of Aix

Post by Loki Harfagr

Post by Al Smith
I are a engineer.
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.
Remember that "decade" implies 10 *days* not 10 years
though many people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

In French a decade is ten days strictly speaking and
a decan ten years, the exact opposite of English. The French are right as
'decade' comes from decadi (ten days) in Latin and decan from 'decanni'

I don't think it's a matter of right or wrong, just who uses what, and
can the society you live in understand what you're saying. If I go up
to anyone in the USA and say it's been a decade since I've seen my
father, they are all going to think I haven't seen him in 10 years, not
10 days.
Plus, I thought the questioner was asking what 'decade' meant in
English, not in French.

[John of Aix]

Post by Douglas Sederberg

Post by John of Aix

Post by Loki Harfagr

Post by Al Smith
I are a engineer.
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.
Remember that "decade" implies 10 *days* not 10 years
though many people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

In French a decade is ten days strictly speaking and
a decan ten years, the exact opposite of English. The French are right as
'decade' comes from decadi (ten days) in Latin and decan from 'decanni'

I don't think it's a matter of right or wrong, just who uses what, and
can the society you live in understand what you're saying. If I go up
to anyone in the USA and say it's been a decade since I've seen my
father, they are all going to think I haven't seen him in 10 years, not
10 days.

Oh I agree, there are plenty of words used 'wrongly' from an etymological
point of view, I meant that they were right in this sense, their use
reflects the etymology of the word.

Post by Douglas Sederberg
Plus, I thought the questioner was asking what 'decade' meant in
English, not in French.

He was after the adjectival form.

[Loki Harfagr]

...

Post by Loki Harfagr

Post by Al Smith
Is there an adjective form of the word decade? I want to describe
something that happens only once in ten years.

"Decennial" is the word you need.

...

Post by Loki Harfagr
people seem to propagate the ill use :D)

In French a decade is ten days strictly speaking and a decan ten years,

...

I don't think it's a matter of right or wrong, just who uses what, and can
the society you live in understand what you're saying.

That's right, and have my apologies for simply putting
smilies when I seem I *should* have had sent a pre-disclaimer
then joined a disclaimer advertising final readers that I was
going to commit irreverenciously some dark and french form
of humour ...

If I go up to
anyone in the USA and say it's been a decade since I've seen my father,
they are all going to think I haven't seen him in 10 years, not 10 days.

Ya dude, no beef, all american man, for sure :D)
(*MIND THE F*KIN SMILEE!*)

Plus, I thought the questioner was asking what 'decade' meant in
English, not in French.

Not much, he wanted some adjectival form of decade, which is
decennial, as decade is a short for "decade of years" which you'll
admit would make a very strange adjectival building pattern -)