How long is a fortnight?
A fortnight is two weeks, or 14 days. The word comes from Old English for "fourteen nights".
A fortnight in other units
| Weeks | 2 |
| Days | 14 |
| Hours | 336 |
| Minutes | 20,160 |
| Seconds | 1,209,600 |
| Per year | About 26 (26 fortnights and 1 day) |
Questions people ask
How long is a fortnight?
Two weeks: 14 days. That's 336 hours, 20,160 minutes or 1,209,600 seconds.
Where does the word fortnight come from?
Old English fēowertīene niht, "fourteen nights". People once counted days by nights, which also gave us the old word sennight (seven nights) for a week.
How many fortnights are in a year?
About 26: a 365-day year is 26 fortnights and 1 day. That's why people paid every two weeks usually get 26 paychecks a year, and occasionally 27.
Is fortnightly the same as biweekly?
Fortnightly always means every two weeks. Biweekly is ambiguous: it usually means every two weeks, but it can also mean twice a week, so fortnightly is clearer.
Do Americans use the word fortnight?
Rarely in everyday speech; it's common in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Americans usually say "two weeks".
Related: weeks between two dates · date calculator · words about time