How Many Years is a Decade?

Do you know that every minute someone searches for ‘how many years is a decade’ on Google?

If you are searching for the same query and haven’t found an answer yet, you are going to get one right now. 

In today’s blog, we are going to understand the concept of a decade in detail. So without any further ado, let’s jump to our first topic.

How Long is a Decade?

There are 10 years in a decade.

The use of the term ‘decades,’ which refers to the period of ten years, has helped mankind distinguish important historical events conveniently.

Decades have enabled humans to quickly identify past events, for example, the 50s or 60s, which means the 1940s and 1960s, respectively.

There’s a nickname for each decade derived from consequential events that have occurred during a period of time. 

A perfect example in the history of the US is ‘the roaring twenties.’

It refers to the period of the 1920s, during which economic growth and cultural changes took place. Most of the historical events are divided into decades.

This makes it convenient to differentiate events that have occurred within a specific time period in the past. 

Other than the historical events, ages can also be classified into decades. The term ‘decade’ is also used to recall the 1990s.

It was the year when the economic market of Japan collapsed. People also referred to this time period as ‘the lost decade,’ which occurred after world war 2.

Origin of the Word ‘Decade’

The origin of the word ‘Decade’ roots from a Greek work δεκάς (dekas), which means ‘a group of ten.’ The Romans consigned this word, who habitually used the prefix ‘dec’ in their conversations. 

Romans used the prefix to describe a collection of ten items like the decathlon, decagon, etc.

Other divisions of Roman’s time that came from Latin include century (100 years) and millennium (1000) years. So technically, any collection of ten years is its separate and own decade.

The term ‘decade’ is also commonly used to refer to a period based on the tens digit of a calendar year. So ‘1980s’ refers to a decade of time between 1980-1989. However, the reference of a decade is different in the Gregorian calendar. 

Gregorian calendars begin in 1 AD, and according to the calendar, the first decade refers to the period between 1-10AD.

Similarly, the second decade refers to the time period between 11-20 AD, and it goes on and on.

Although the ‘nineties’ refers to the year frame of 1990-1999 AD, the 200th decade refers to the time period between 1991-2000 AD. 

An event that recurs each decade is a decennial. Similarly, events that occur every 100 years are centennial events. In addition, the events that take place every 1000 years are millennial events. 

Let’s take a statement – every ten years, the US government conducts a census, for example. The other way of saying this is – the US government conducts a census decennially. 

Significance of a Decade

By now, you might know that historical events are divided into decades. However, the term decades have much other significance.

Just like historical incidents, the age group is also classified in decades. Here’s a detailed classification that you might want to know.

FAQs

What’s the easiest way to calculate century into years?

Divide the chosen year by 100, then drop the decimal and add one in the result.

Adding one is essential because year one is considered the first century, making 101 second centuries, and the cycle keeps rotating.

Which one is bigger, a decade or century?

It’s one of the most asked questions. So many people assume decade and century are one and the same thing. But that’s not the truth.

A decade consists of 10 years, whereas a century consists of 100 years. So when it comes to which one is bigger, a century is the answer.

How long does it take to form a decade?

A decade is a time period equivalent to 10 years. When you multiply one decade by 10, you get 100 years, which means a century.

Therefore, it takes 10 decades to for one century or hundred years with 365 days or 12 months. 

Where’s the origin of the word decade?

The term ‘Decade’ comes from the Greek word dekas or δεκάς, which means a group of 10.

The word was further transmitted via Romans, who used a common prefix ‘dec’ to refer to a collection of ten items, decathlon or decagon, for example. 

If the term for 10 years is a decade, what’s the word for 20, 30, and 40?

As 10 years is a decade, so 20 years means 2 decades, 30 years means 3 decades, and 40 years means 4 decades. The ladder goes till 90 years or 9 decades as the term for 100 years is a century. 

Just like there’s a term for 10 and 100 years, is there any word that means 1000 years?

Yes, there’s a term that is equivalent to 1000 years. The word is a millennium. Also, decade, century, and millennium come from Greek words.

Final Words

We hope now you have a clear idea of how many years a decade consists of.

We have shared some equally essential FAQs to solve all your possible doubts about the term ‘decade’.

In the end, if you still have any other questions, don’t mind sharing with us in the comment section below. We’ll be more than happy to help you with your query.

Finally, have a healthy and safe life ahead.

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I have always been a shopaholic. A lot of times my questions went unanswered when it came to retail questions, so I started Talk Radio News. - Caitlyn Johnson

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