Decades

showcrop · Feb 20, 2014

Where did this come from? I noticed just a few months ago the great increase in the use of the word. We always used to just say years, unless it was really mandated that the word decade be used. A decade of course is ten years but decades mean either twenty or thirty or another multiple of ten years, and how often is the length of time actually a multiple of ten years? Use of the word usually even doubles the number of syllables used so it is not a short cut. I just keep saying years. I guess I am rebel, LOL. Sometimes I will say many years. How about you?

Royse · Feb 20, 2014

Maybe it's a more accurate description of how many years ago
something happened and now that we're old enough to talk about
things that happened "decades" ago we use it more!
Or maybe we don't think people would understand if we described
time periods in scores? LOL

JayinNY · Feb 20, 2014

Well I guess I'm guilty of that, I was telling my friend last year
that I put the woodstove insert in the fireplace a decade ago,
meaning 2003, I remember the day well, we had a major
blackout in the northeast that August. I don't know why I said
decade rather than 03 or 10 years ago! Lol.

rvirgil_KS · Feb 20, 2014

Now that I have gotten older (three score and 10+)the years have become decades and I wonder where they went. We talk about the tractors we drove 50 and 60 years ago and it seems like just yesterday.

At this age if I think in terms of decades rather than years there is less to keep track of.

rrlund · Feb 20, 2014

What ever happened to just saying "It's like,ancient,man".

pat sublett · Feb 20, 2014

Comes from people like me. It sounds better , for example, to say I am 8 decades old. Saves numbers.

huntingreen2day2 · Feb 20, 2014

Just think almost everyone who might be on this
site was born in the last Century.

TomH in PA · Feb 20, 2014

Well, it's easier to say than coon's ages (plural).

Steve@Advance · Feb 20, 2014

It's not in my usual vocabulary. Comes from Latin,
deca=10. Probably more common in old English, maybe
it's making a comeback.

Don OH · Feb 20, 2014

seems to me I read four score half and four somewhere before

Don OH · Feb 20, 2014

I meant three score half and four my Great-Uncle
told me or I read it in the book

jennifer408 · Feb 20, 2014

wow!!!
i just realized something. i was born last century and im over 5 decades old. how did that happen soo fast ??? whaaaaaa... i want my mommy.

Alan K · Feb 20, 2014

LOL....totally!

jeffcat · Feb 20, 2014

wouldn"t that be four generations? Iffin I member rightly twenty years is a generation. Jeffcat

MarkB_MI · Feb 21, 2014

I don't understand your problem. We use the term "years" to express some indeterminate length of time greater than two years. We say "centuries" when we refer to time greater than two hundred years and "millennia" for more that 2000 years. Likewise, when I say "hours" you wouldn't think I meant an exact multiple of one hour, would you? So why is it I should only use the word "decades" when I'm referring to an integer multiple of ten years?

NNP · Feb 21, 2014

just a math thing for me
years ago= up to 9 years ago
decade ago = 10 years ago
decades ago= up to 99 years ago
century ago = 100 years ago
centuries ago= up to 999 years ago
etc

also...getting old... depressing to say 40, 50 years ago
decades ago is easier
saying 40 years ago is hard because that's impossible as I will always be/feel 25-30

Decades

showcrop

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Royse

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JayinNY

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rvirgil_KS

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rrlund

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pat sublett

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huntingreen2day2

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TomH in PA

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Steve@Advance

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Don OH

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Don OH

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jennifer408

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Alan K

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NNP

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