Biweekly?

What does bi-weekly mean?

a.) once in every two weeks.
b.) twice in one week
c.) both

I'd usually expect it to be once every two weeks, but I'm not sure it's well-defined.

usually it indicates the quantity of time, so I would as well claim it to be: a.) once in every two weeks.

I associate it with twice in one week, so (b)

Matthew Brown wrote:I'd usually expect it to be once every two weeks

I expect that to be fortnightly

Akhilesh Trivedi wrote:b.) twice in one week

That would be semi-weekly.

According to Wordweb answer is C.

I thought you can use biweekly and fortnightly interchangeably.

a bicentennial means 200 years, not twice in 100 years.

Therefore, a bi-weekly means two weeks.

English is funny: so bisect should mean to multiply by two.

Bear Bibeault wrote:English is funny: so bisect should mean to multiply by two.

Doesn't it mean "two sections"? When you bisect an angle, don't you do just that - make one section into two?

fred rosenberger wrote:

Bear Bibeault wrote:English is funny: so bisect should mean to multiply by two.

Doesn't it mean "two sections"? When you bisect an angle, don't you do just that - make one section into two?

1 section x 2 = 2 sections

Related question:- What does "Next tuesday" mean

a) The tuesday of next week
b) The tuesday that is coming next
c) Tuesday that is after "this" tuesday

So, Let's say, someone tells you on Saturday, Mar 17 that we are going to meet next tuesday, are you going to meet them on Mar 20 or 27th?. What if they tell you that they are going to meet you next tuesday on Mon, Mar 12. Are you going to meet them on Mar 13 or Mar 20?

You can only use "fortnightly" in dialects where the word "fortnight" is used. I.e. not in American English.

Paul Clapham wrote:You can only use "fortnightly" in dialects where the word "fortnight" is used. I.e. not in American English.

Interesting, I wasn't aware it's not used in American English.

Well, you can use it, sure. But we'll look at you funny.

Well, American English should add fortnight. It's a a perfectly cromulent word!

1 - I think bi-weekly can, unfortunately, mean either way

B - The speed of light is often measured in miles per second, but I've found it far more useful to think in terms of furlongs per fortnight.

whereas bidaily is twice a day.

Aah. The otherwhiles usage of the Furlong - Firkin - Fortnight system.
That teks me back, by eck.
(Shuffles back to his hovel to count his thruppenny bits 'n tanners, muttering as he goes ...)

Jayesh A Lalwani wrote:Related question:- What does "Next tuesday" mean

a) The tuesday of next week
b) The tuesday that is coming next
c) Tuesday that is after "this" tuesday

So, Let's say, someone tells you on Saturday, Mar 17 that we are going to meet next tuesday, are you going to meet them on Mar 20 or 27th?. What if they tell you that they are going to meet you next tuesday on Mon, Mar 12. Are you going to meet them on Mar 13 or Mar 20?

One would use "next tuesday" only on "tuesday" if they mean coming tuesday, otherwise "next tuesday" and "coming tuesday" mean what they are.

So bizarre means two Czars? :p

I would think that if today were a Monday, and someone said "Let's meet next Tuesday", they would mean 8 days. If they meant 1 day, they'd say "tomorrow".

I think that I think when someone says "Next Tuesday", I mentally insert the word "week" in between.

Yes, it;s pretty clear on Monday that they mean Tuesday of next week. But from Wed-Sat, it becomes confusing. Some people mean it to say "tuesday of next week", but some people mean "tuesday after this tuesday". It happenned to my wife recently. We had called a handyman to get some things done around the house. She talked to him on Sat, and he said he will come up "next tuesday". She thought it was "tuesday of next week", and she worked from home on that day. He never turned up. She called their office and they said he is coming next week.