[Apollo81]

see poll

[pclayton]

Spoiler

Biannual is every other year. Semi-annual is twice a year.

[jdonn]

Is it just me or is this a trivially easy question?

[Trumpace]

jdonn, on Apr 29 2008, 11:29 AM, said:

Is it just me or is this a trivially easy question?

Depends on your answer

[jillybean]

Either, its a horrid word!

[han]

Once every two years.

[han]

OK the dictionary says twice a years but I don't think that's how the word is used.

[Apollo81]

jdonn, on Apr 29 2008, 12:29 PM, said:

Is it just me or is this a trivially easy question?

votes are 9-14-2 so far =)

[matmat]

depends on whether you consult a linguist or an ad agent.

[Apollo81]

han, on Apr 29 2008, 01:19 PM, said:

OK the dictionary says twice a years but I don't think that's how the word is used.

Doesn't it say both? At least both dictionary.com and merriam-webster do

[kenberg]

I am pretty sure that someone who gets paid every two weeks is describes as "paid bi-weekly". Maybe this is wrong, but it is very common. If bi-weekly means every two weeks then bi-annually means, if there is any sense at all to it, every two years.

[Apollo81]

kenberg, on Apr 29 2008, 02:05 PM, said:

I am pretty sure that someone who gets paid every two weeks is describes as "paid bi-weekly". Maybe this is wrong, but it is very common. If bi-weekly means every two weeks then bi-annually means, if there is any sense at all to it, every two years.

The English language makes sense? =)

[Apollo81]

Apollo81, on Apr 29 2008, 02:06 PM, said:

kenberg, on Apr 29 2008, 02:05 PM, said:

I am pretty sure that someone who gets paid every two weeks is describes as "paid bi-weekly". Maybe this is wrong, but it is very common. If bi-weekly means every two weeks then bi-annually means, if there is any sense at all to it, every two years.

The English language makes sense? =)

you'd also think "regardless" and "irregardless" would have different meanings by the same sort of logic, but....

[jtfanclub]

Apollo81, on Apr 29 2008, 01:10 PM, said:

you'd also think "regardless" and "irregardless" would have different meanings by the same sort of logic, but....

No, regardless and irregardless should have the same meaning, just like flammable and inflammable and luminate and illuminate have the same meaning (il-, ir-, and in- are all the same prefix, which consonant depends on the next letter). Of course, by the same logic mutable and immutable should have the same meaning, logical and illogical....

[cherdano]

han, on Apr 29 2008, 11:19 AM, said:

OK the dictionary says twice a years but I don't think that's how the word is used.

That's what I thought, too, but in a news.google.com search for "biannual" it was only used in the sense of "twice a year".
Of course my search will be statistically skewed, since there are more events occurring every 6 months than events occurring every 24 months, but probably our perception is also off. Since the context almost always makes it clear, it's not really necessary to know consciously what it means...

[jdonn]

This is the first time I can recall ever disagreeing with the dictionary. I have never heard this used as twice a year, and don't think it means that at all, and would consider that usage incorrect.

But I suppose the answer to my first post is: it's me.

[Hanoi5]

Wow, you really got me with this one. Apparently it means twice a year, while biennial happens once every two years.

[Apollo81]

Hanoi5, on Apr 29 2008, 02:42 PM, said:

Wow, you really got me with this one. Apparently it means twice a year, while biennial happens once every two years.

http://dictionary.re...browse/biannual
http://www.merriam-w...ionary/biannual

The above links claim it can mean either twice a year or once every two years.

[Apollo81]

jdonn, on Apr 29 2008, 02:19 PM, said:

This is the first time I can recall ever disagreeing with the dictionary. I have never heard this used as twice a year, and don't think it means that at all, and would consider that usage incorrect.

But I suppose the answer to my first post is: it's me.

Yeah I was quite surprised. Today I almost corrected someone's email for using it to mean "twice a year" but decided to check first. Good thing I looked.

[cherdano]

jdonn, on Apr 29 2008, 12:19 PM, said:

This is the first time I can recall ever disagreeing with the dictionary. I have never heard this used as twice a year, and don't think it means that at all, and would consider that usage incorrect.

Unless you never read or listen to any news, your claim is certainly wrong. It is interesting question why your brain (and that of many others, including mine) has such a bias in remembering the meanings of this word.