sennight

See also: se'nnight

English

From Middle English senight, sinight, a shortened form of Middle English sevenight, sevennyght. Doublet of sevennight.

sennight (plural sennights)

(archaic) A period of seven nights; a week.
- c. 1599-1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It Act III, scene ii.
  […] if the interim be but a se'nnight, Time's pace is so hard that it seems the length of seven year.
- c. 1599-1606, William Shakespeare, Macbeth Act I, scene iii.
  Weary se'nnights nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak and pine:

sennight (not comparable)

(archaic) After a sennight has passed.
- 1815, Jane Austen, Emma
  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.
- 1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando
  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.
(archaic) A sennight ago.
- 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
  It will be in my power to assure him that her ladyship was quite well yesterday se'nnight.

sennight in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
sennight at worldwidewords.org (retrieved 26 August 2015)

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