2021-05-31
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – B – biweekly & semiweekly
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
[Please see GTK@690905 for detail on biweekly]
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง biweekly = ‘bahy-WEEK-lee’
ออกเสียง semiweekly = ‘sem-ee-WEEK-lee’ or ‘sem-ahy- . . .”
Dictionary.com
VOCAB BUILDER
What does biweekly mean?
Biweekly is commonly used to mean
one of two things:
once every twoweeks or twice per week.
It can be used this way as an adjective,
as in: a biweekly meeting,
or an adverb,
as in: We plan to meet biweekly.
Yes, you can sometimes figure out
what biweekly means from the context of the sentence.
But not always.
The term biweekly meeting mightmean that
it happens twice a week or every two weeks
—both senses of the word are commonly used.
Here’s the best (and maybeonly) way to be perfectly clear:
just say “twice a week” or “once every two weeks.”
Biweekly can also be used as a noun
referring to a publication that’s published twice per week
or once every two weeks (as opposed to a daily or weekly, for example).
Examples:
- New episodes of my biweekly podcast come out every other Monday.
- Let’s plan to meet biweekly—every Tuesday and Friday.
Where does biweekly come from?
The first records of the word biweekly come from the 1880s.
The prefix bi- means“twice” or “two.”
The suffix -ly, which usually forms adverbs,
is used in biweekly to mean“every.”
It’s used in the same way in several other units of time, including hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly.
Differentprefixes can be added to weekly
to indicate a different period of time,
such as: in triweekly (every three weeks or three times a week)
and semiweekly (twice a week).
A lot of workers are paid biweekly—every two weeks.
If a publication is published biweekly,
it usually means it comes out every two weeks.
But newspapers that are called biweeklies
are most commonly published twice a week
—such as: on every Monday and Thursday.
Such a newspaper can also be called a twice-weekly.
Dictionary.com
VOCAB BUILDER
What does semiweekly mean?
Semiweekly meanstwice a week.
It can be used this way as an adjective,
as in: a semiweekly meeting, or an adverb,
as in: We plan to meet semiweekly.
The word biweekly isa synonym,
but it can also mean once every two weeks.
Although semiweekly is typically only used to mean twice a week
—not every two weeks—it can still be confusing.
The best (and maybe only) way to be perfectly clear is
to just say“twice a week.”
Semiweekly can also be used as a noun
referring to a publication that’s published twice per week
(as opposed to a weekly or daily, for example).
Example: Let’s plan to meet semiweekly, every Tuesday and Friday.
Where does semiweekly come from?
The first records of the word semiweekly come from the late 1700s.
The suffix -ly, which usually forms adverbs,
is used in semiweekly to mean “every.”
It’s used in the same way in several other units of time, including hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly.
The prefix semi- means “half” and
is used similarly in the word semiannual,
meaning “twice a year” or “lasting half of the year.”
However, semiweekly is never used to mean “lasting half of the week”
(though some semiweekly meetings may seem like they do).
Different prefixes can be added to weekly
to indicate a different period of time,
such as in biweekly (every two weeks or twice a week)
and triweekly (every three weeks or three times a week).
When intended to mean “twice a week,”
biweekly is sometimes replaced with semiweekly for clarity,
but this might not help, especially since semiweekly is much less common.
The A-Z of Correct English Common Errors in English Dictionary
Biweekly
This word has two conflicting meanings
and is perhaps best avoided.
It can mean both every two weeks
(i.e. fortnightly) and also twice a week. (Compare BIMONTHLY.)
Common Errors in English Usage Dictionary
Biweekly & Semiweekly
Technically,
a biweekly meeting occurs every two weeks
and a semiweekly one occurs twice a week;
but so few people get this straight
that your club is liable to disintegrate
unless you avoid these words in the newsletter
and stickwith “every other week” or “twice weekly.”
The same is true of “bimonthly” and “semimonthly,”
though “biennial” and “semi-annual”
are less often confused with each other.
