Meanings
- Of or related to the number sixty
- not comparableContaining sixty years.
The sexagenary cycle is formed by combining the twelve earthly branches representing the years of Jupiter's orbital cycle and the ten heavenly stems of the Shang-era week, stopping halfway through to reflect the pairing of yin and yang terms.
- archaicnot comparableSynonym of sexagenarian: lasting or aged sixty years; sixty-year-old.
Synonyms: sexagenarian
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSynonym of sexagenarian: lasting or aged sixty years; sixty-year-old.
adjectiveSynonym of sexagesimal: base-60.
nounSynonym of sexagesimal: base-60 numeration.
nounSynonym of sexagenarian: a sixty-year-old.
Origin
- Latinsexāgēnus“60 each”
- Frenchsexagénaire
- Latinsexāgēnārius“sixty; sixty years old; a sixty-year-old”
- Englishsexagenary
From Latin sexāgēnārius (“sixty; sixty years old; a sixty-year-old”) either directly or via French sexagénaire, from Latin sexāgēnus (“60 each”), from sexaginta (“six tens, sixty”). Cognate with sexagenarian.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
sexagenary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sexagenary
“sexagenary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sexagenary. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sexagenary,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sexagenary.
Source: sexagenary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.