LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

biennium

biennium n (genitive bienniī or biennī)
Classical[biˈɛn.ni.ũː]Ecclesiastical[biˈɛn.ni.um]

Meaning

  1. neutera period of two years, biennium
    [Mnesilochus] Multimodis meditatus egomet mecum sum, et ita esse arbitror: homini amico, qui est amicus ita uti nomen possidet, nisi deos ei nil praestare; id opera expertus sum esse ita. nam ut in Ephesum hinc abii — hoc factumst ferme abhinc biennium— ex Epheso huc ad Pistoclerum meum sodalem litteras misi, amicam ut mi inveniret Bacchidem. illum intellegoc. 190 BCE, Plautus, Bacchides 3.2.1–7
    Nam illa videntur prodigialiter in nostris Ceretanis accidisse, ut aliqua vitis apud te excederet uvarum numerum duorum milium, et apud me octogenae stirpes insitae intra biennium septenos culleos peraequarent, ut primae vineae centenas amphoras iugeratim praeberent, cum prata et pascua et silvae, si centenos sestertios in singula iugera efficiant, optime domino consulere videantur.4 CE – c. 70 CE, Columella, De re rustica III.III

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebienniumbiennia
genitivebienniī
biennī		bienniōrum
dativebienniōbienniīs
accusativebienniumbiennia
ablativebienniōbienniīs
vocativebienniumbiennia

bĭennĭum, ii, n. bis-annus,
I. a period or space of two years, two years: jam biennium est, cum, etc., Plaut. Merc. 3, 1, 35: intra tempus biennii, Col. 3, 9, 6: hoc factum est ferme abhinc biennium, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 2, 4 (imitated by Ps.-Plaut. Merc. prol. 12): biennium ibi perpetuum misera illum tuli, Ter. Hec. 1, 2, 12; Caes. B. G. 1, 3; Cic. Phil. 5, 3, 7; Liv. 5, 14, 2: biennium provinciam obtinuit, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 93, § 216; 2, 4, 30, § 67: lex usum et auctoritatem fundi jubet esse biennium, id. Caecin. 19, 54; Quint. Ep. ad Tryph. 1; id. Inst. 1, 12, 9: biennio postquam abii, Plaut. Bacch. 2, 1, 1: comitia biennio habita, Liv. 5, 14, 2: matres, quae biennio durant, Plin. 11, 21, 24, § 73; Suet. Galb. 7: consulatum biennio post ultro petiit, id. Aug. 26: intra tempus bienni, Col. R. R. 3, 9, 6: intra biennium, Quint. 1, 2, 9: ultra biennium, Tac. A. 1, 1.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dwi-
  3. Proto-Italic*dwi-
  4. Latinbiennium

Proto-Indo-European *h₂et- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *h₂etnós Proto-Italic *atnos? Latin annus Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂der.? Proto-Italic *-is Latin -is Latin biennis Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin biennium Synchronically, from biennis + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).

Descendants
  • Catalanbienni
  • Englishbiennium
  • Italianbiennio
  • Romanianbieniu
  • Spanishbienio

In English words that came into English from biennium

  • biennialbiennium
  • bienniumbiennium

Quick answers

What does biennium mean in Latin?
biennium, a noun, means “a period of two years, biennium”.
What is the genitive of biennium?
The genitive singular is bienniī. biennium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce biennium?
In classical Latin, [biˈɛn.ni.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [biˈɛn.ni.um].
Where does biennium come from?
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ → Proto-Indo-European *dwi- → Proto-Italic *dwi- → Latin biennium.