Meaning & use
semiquincentennial
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Meanings
nouncountable
The celebration or marking of an event that happened 250 years earlier.
Grammar: Countable: the semiquincentennial of an event.
Patterns
- the semiquincentennial of something
The country held fireworks to mark the semiquincentennial of its founding.
Our town planned a parade for the semiquincentennial.
The museum prepared a special exhibition for the semiquincentennial.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to a 250th anniversary.
Grammar: Before a noun: a semiquincentennial celebration.
Patterns
- a semiquincentennial celebration
The semiquincentennial celebration attracted visitors from around the world.
A semiquincentennial coin was issued to mark the year.
The city unveiled a semiquincentennial monument.
Word forms
| plural | semiquincentennials |
|---|
Common combinations
- semiquincentennial celebration
- The semiquincentennial celebration lasted all summer.
- mark the semiquincentennial
- The postal service issued stamps to mark the semiquincentennial.
- national semiquincentennial
- The national semiquincentennial drew huge crowds.
- semiquincentennial of the founding
- They planned an event for the semiquincentennial of the founding.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sestercentennial
- Sestercentennial is an alternative word for the same 250th anniversary and is even rarer.
- quarter-millennial
- Quarter-millennial is a plain, descriptive phrase for 250 years and is easier to understand.
- anniversary
- Anniversary is general for any number of years, while semiquincentennial is specifically 250.
Word family
- bicentennial noun
- a 200th anniversary
- centennial noun
- a 100th anniversary
- tricentennial noun
- a 300th anniversary
- quincentennial noun
- a 500th anniversary
Commonly confused: semiquincentennial or semicentennial? semiquincentennial or bicentennial?
semiquincentennial vs semicentennial
Semicentennial means a 50th anniversary, not 250; the quin- in semiquincentennial refers to five hundred, half of which is 250.
semiquincentennial vs bicentennial
A bicentennial marks 200 years, not 250.
Practice
A semiquincentennial marks how many years since an event?
Choose one answer.
Semiquincentennial means a 250th anniversary, which is half of 500. A bicentennial is 200 years, and a semicentennial is 50.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “semiquincentennial”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.