the.com/biannual
The word that means twice a year and every two years, helping no one.
means Happening twice a year — or every two years, depending on who's using it, which is exactly the problem.
from A straightforward Latin build: the prefix 'bi-' meaning 'two' (as in bicycle, binocular) bolted onto 'annual,' from Latin 'annus,' 'year' — the same root that gives us 'annals' and 'anniversary.' The trouble is baked in from birth: 'bi-' has always wobbled between 'twice within' and 'every two,' so the word arrived ambiguous and has stayed that way ever since.
- twin meaning
- Signals both semiannual and biennial, ruining schedules
- prefix problem
- Bi- mocks calendars across the English language
- editor's nightmare
- Style guides beg writers to use clearer words
- safer cousin
- Semiannual exists purely to dodge the chaos
leaf-man art car — burns annually at burning man festival since 1999, but originally built on a biannual schedule
basel art fair — held in basel switzerland and miami beach on biannual schedule, flagship contemporary art fairs since 1970