Daily AncestorFortnight
A fortnight is a period of two weeks, fourteen days, a common unit in older letters and newspapers.
Fortnight means two weeks. The word is still common in Britain but has become dated in America, where it was used freely in older letters, diaries and newspapers.
An obituary saying a man died a fortnight after his wife gives you a two-week gap to work with, which can narrow the search for her burial.
As seen in a recordLine in an 1840s newspaper notice
died a fortnight since, after a short illness
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Fortnight." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/dates-calendar/fortnight. Last checked 2026-10-01.