Meanings
plural quincentennia
- rareA period of five hundred years, half a millennium.
In more leisurely days there were Egyptian millenia^([sic]), Greek and Roman quincentennia, and Spanish, French, and British centuries.
1972, Wilfred Jenks, “Realism and Magnanimity in the Law of Nations”, in The American Journal of International Law, LXVI, № 4 (September 1972), page 3161 more example
And Mr John Graham, editor of The New Shetlander and one of the most articulate ideologues of the 1967 revolution, reinterpreted the problem of “Social Change during the Quincentennium” (1469–1969) accordingly.
1972, Scottish International, V, page 11
Origin
- New Latinquincentennium“500-year period”
- Englishquincentennium
From New Latin quincentennium (“500-year period”). Compare the classical Latin form quingenti (“500”). Equivalent to quin- (“five”) + centennium (“century, 100-year period”). Cognate with quincentenary and quincentennial.
More words from New Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
quincentennium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quincentennium
“quincentennium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quincentennium. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quincentennium,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quincentennium.
Source: quincentennium on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.