Similar case in point: “bimonthly” means “twice a month.” That makes sense.

But the definition for “bi-weekly” does not make sense.

What do you think?

  • nybble41@programming.dev
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    11 months ago

    If someone said to me: we will meet two weekly…

    You’re essentially assuming the conclusion by grouping it like that. There are three parts to “biweekly”, “bi-”, “week”, and “-ly”. “Once per biweek”, i.e. once per 14 days (or per fortnight), makes at least as much sense as “two” × “weekly”.

    I have no idea how anyone thinks that meaning semi-weekly means twice weekly.

    Meeting semiweekly (semiweek-ly, if you must hyphenate it) means meeting every semiweek, or every half-week (3.5 days). Which is an odd internal to meet at if taken literally but would result in meeting twice each week. “Semiannually” is a more common example, and I’ve never seen or heard it used to refer to anything but a 6-month (half-year) interval.