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by jp57 1929 days ago
> so 'biweekly' as 'fortnightly' is certainly to be proscribed, in my book.

Except that's literally the dictionary definition of the word. And "biennial" and "biannual" are synonyms.

1 comments

...in the US.

I only have Collins' concise to hand, which gives the definitions I have and doesn't even mention (not even proscribed or US etc.) other uses. And Collins is pretty permissive.

And no they're not. 'Biennial' events occur once per two year period; 'biannual' events occur four times per two year (twice per year) period.

For example, in horticulture 'a biennial [plant]' is one that has a single flowering/reproduction cycle over two years. (Cf. 'annuals', 'perennials'.)