sennightとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

From Middle English senight, senyght, sinight (“seven days または nights, a week”) [and other forms], a shortened form of seven-night, sevenight, sevenyght [and other forms],^[1] from Late 古期英語 seofeniht, seoueniht (compare seofonnihte (“seven days old; seven days long”, adjective)), from seofon (“seven”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥ (“seven”)) + niht (“night; day (when computing spans of time)”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts (“night”)). Doublet of sevennight.^[2]

発音

• (Received 発音) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛnaɪt/, /-nɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛnˌaɪt/
• ハイフネーション: sen‧night

名詞

sennight (複数形 sennights)

1. (archaic or obsolete)
   1. A period of seven consecutive days and nights; a week.

      Synonym: (古風な用法 または 廃れた用法) sevennight

      • a. 1530 (date written; published c. 1545)​, John Skelton, “Here after Foloweth the Booke Called Elynour Rummynge. The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng per Skelton Laureat.”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd, […], published 1843, OCLC 1000393158, lines 394–397, pages 107–108:

        I dranke not this sennet / A draught to my pay; / Elynour, I thé pray, / Of thyne ale let vs assay, […]

      • c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii], page 197, column 1:

        Marry he trots hard vvith a yong maid, betvveen the contract of her marriage, and the day it is ſolemnizd: if the interim be but a ſennight, Times pace is ſo hard, that it ſeemes the length of ſeuen yeare.

      • 1894, Kenneth Grahame, “‘Young Adam Cupid’”, in Pagan Papers, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews and John Lane […]; Chicago, Ill.: Stone and Kimball, OCLC 1693507, page 139:

        I was not bit enough to stand up to Edward personally, so I had to console the sufferer by allowing him to grease the wheels of the donkey-cart—a luscious treat that had been specially reserved for me, a sennight past, by the gardener's boy, for putting in a good word on his behalf with the new kitchen-maid.

      • 1948 (1st collected edition 1953), Isaac Asimov, “Two Men and a Peasant”, in Second Foundation, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey, published 2020, →ISBN, part I (Search by the Mule), page 41:

        Old woman, what was it the village Elders said a se'nnight since? Eh? Stir your memory.

   2. (attributively) Preceded by a specified day such as Sunday, today, or yesterday: a week from (either before または after) the specified day.

      Synonym: (古風な用法 または 廃れた用法) sevennight

      • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XVIII, in Pride and Prejudice, volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton […], OCLC 38659585, page 224:

        It will be in my power to assure him that her ladyship was quite well yesterday se'nnight.

        That is, from a week before yesterday.

      • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XIII, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, OCLC 1708336, page 244:

        I was snowed up at a friend's house once for a week. Nothing could be pleasanter. I went for only one night, and could not get away till that very day se'nnight.

      • 1817 December​, [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Northanger Abbey; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], 1818, OCLC 318384910, pages 26–27:

        We leave Bath, as she has perhaps told you, on Saturday se'nnight.

      • 1928, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Orlando: A Biography, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, OCLC 1264731410, page 50:

        As for his marriage with the Lady Margaret, fixed though it was for this day sennight, the thing was so palpably absurd that he scarcely gave it a thought.

2. (obsolete)

   Synonym: (廃れた用法) sevennight

   1. Preceded by a specified day and come: a week after the specified day.
      • [1741, [Samuel Richardson], “[The Journal Continued.] Monday.”, in Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded. […], volume II, 3rd edition, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […]; and J. Osborn, […], OCLC 1264825423, page 153:

        And Mrs. Jevvkes tells me, every one names Thurſday come Sev'nnight for our Nuptials.]

   2. Preceded by a specified day and gone or was: a week before the specified day.
      • 1759 May 24, George Ridpath, “Diary—Volume II”, in James Balfour Paul, editor, Diary of George Ridpath, Minister of Stitchel, 1755–1761 […], Edinburgh: Printed at the University Press by T[homas] & A[rchibald] Constable Ltd. for the Scottish History Society, published 1922, OCLC 3278307, page 248:

        Sir Robert Pringle and John Hunter attended the meeting of Heritors intimated here on Sunday gone a se'enight.

別の表記

• se'nnight, se'night

等位語

• fortnight

参照

Further reading

• week on Wikipedia.
• sennight in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• Michael Quinion (created 25 April 1998, last updated 2 May 1998), “Sennight”, in World Wide Words.

アナグラム

• nightens