The word fortnight

Across cultures, time has been understood in ways that reflect both immediate human needs and larger cosmic or spiritual cycles. Whether through concepts like fortnight in English, isshun in Japan, or the Yugas in Hindu cosmology, time often plays a dual role: it governs daily life while also linking humanity to grander, more abstract patterns. By looking at these diverse time concepts, we can appreciate how the fractal nature of time—where small moments mirror larger cycles—permeates human narratives across history and geography.

In early societies, particularly those with agrarian and lunar-based systems, measuring time in “nights” was common. The moon’s phases played a vital role in the organization of labor, rituals, and agriculture, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon period. Terms like fortnight and sennight (for one week) made practical sense in a world where people lived closer to natural cycles.

When examining how cultures have conceptualized and measured time, we can observe various systems and terms that have evolved to reflect cultural priorities, natural cycles, and societal structures. These time-keeping methods and linguistic frameworks often reveal deep insights into the relationship between humans and their environment.

In Japan, time is historically tied to natural phenomena and spiritual philosophies like Zen Buddhism. One interesting concept is isshun (一瞬), which means “one moment” or “a brief instant.” It emphasizes the transient nature of life and moments. While this term might seem small-scale compared to something like fortnight, it plays a significant role in understanding how fleeting and precious time is in Japanese cultural and philosophical contexts. This idea of isshun ties into a larger fractal-like pattern, where every moment is seen as a reflection of the impermanent, cyclical nature of time.

Japanese culture has traditionally tied timekeeping to agricultural cycles and seasonal festivals. For instance, Sekki refers to the 24 seasons of the traditional Japanese calendar, reflecting a focus on subtle changes in nature that affect life rhythms.

Japan’s timekeeping traditionally followed the lunar calendar, and agricultural festivals and ceremonies were based on the rhythms of nature. However, during the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar and Western notions of punctuality, leading to a strong emphasis on clock-based time, especially in urban and industrialized settings. Today, Japan is known for its precision in scheduling, with trains and work schedules often being synchronized to the minute.

Despite this, traditional perceptions of time, especially in more rural areas, still play a role in festivals and family gatherings, where events might not adhere strictly to clock-time, but rather to natural or social rhythms. There is a nuanced tension between Japan’s historical relationship with time and the hyper-modern precision that characterizes its contemporary society.

The ancient Maya civilization developed an intricate calendar system based on cycles of time. One of the key systems they used was the Tzolk’in, a 260-day calendar that was closely connected to religious and agricultural events. Unlike the modern Western notion of linear time, the Tzolk’in emphasized cyclical time, where events repeated in a sacred and predetermined rhythm. This cyclical approach to time reflects a fractal-like understanding where the small (individual days and ceremonies) mirrors the larger cosmic cycles.

The fractal nature of Mesoamerican time is visible in the complex interplay of various calendars (like the Haab and Tzolk’in), where smaller units of time (days, months) reflect the greater cosmic and spiritual cycles, reinforcing the idea that time was a divine pattern influencing every aspect of life.

In many Arabic-speaking cultures, the phrase Insha’Allah (إن شاء الله), meaning “God willing,” is often used to indicate future events. This reflects a relationship with time that is fluid, unpredictable, and ultimately under divine control. Rather than rigid, fixed scheduling, time in this context becomes a reflection of faith and acceptance of life’s unpredictability. The notion that human plans are subject to the will of a higher power suggests a narrative where individual human actions (the small) are part of a greater, unknowable pattern (the large).

Historically, the Bedouin people of the Arabian Peninsula lived nomadic lives dictated by the cycles of nature and survival needs. Time was fluid and flexible, adapting to weather, seasons, and resource availability, with less emphasis on exact timekeeping compared to Western industrialized societies.

Hindu cosmology presents time on an immense scale through the concept of the Yugas, four distinct ages (Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga) that span millions of years. This cyclical view of time is reflective of the Hindu belief in the eternal return, where the universe undergoes cycles of creation, preservation, and destruction. Each Yuga is seen as a fractal part of the larger cosmic cycle, where human history repeats in vast ages, eventually returning to a golden age after periods of decline.

The fractal nature of time in Hinduism reflects how small-scale human experiences (birth, life, death) are embedded in much larger cycles of cosmic time. Just as individuals go through life cycles, the universe itself is seen to go through periods of creation and destruction in a never-ending loop.

The celebration of Diwali, an important festival, is governed by the lunar calendar, and its timing can vary year by year. While religious observances follow these cyclical, cosmic patterns, most people’s daily lives, especially in cities like Mumbai or Delhi, operate on Western clock-based systems. This juxtaposition highlights how different layers of time perception can exist within the same culture.

In many African cultures, particularly among the Akan people of Ghana, the concept of Sankofa reflects a cyclical approach to time, emphasizing the importance of looking back to understand the present and future. The symbol of Sankofa is often depicted as a bird flying forward while looking backward, symbolizing the interconnectedness of past, present, and future. This cyclical and reflective approach to time contrasts with the linear time model more common in Western thought.

African time traditions often revolve around social and communal activities rather than strict schedules. Events happen when everyone gathers, and time is measured by the completion of tasks rather than the ticking of a clock, illustrating a time narrative that is more flexible and fluid.

time is rarely seen as a linear progression. Instead, it’s conceptualized as cyclical or fractal-like, where the smaller units (moments, days, months) reflect larger, overarching cycles (cosmic ages, agricultural seasons, or spiritual events). The fractal nature means that individual experiences of time—whether they be fleeting moments or specific days—are seen as parts of a grander, repeating pattern. This stands in contrast to the more linear, segmented view of time commonly found in industrialized Western societies, where time is often commodified and strictly scheduled.

In medieval England, economic and social life was often structured around regular, repetitive tasks like rent collection, labor contracts, or religious observances, which were often scheduled on a fortnightly basis. Having a specific word for a two-week period would have been both efficient and practical in such contexts.

Over time, language tends to simplify as communication shifts towards brevity and clarity. The phrase “two weeks” is more direct than fortnight and was likely preferred in spoken language for its clarity, especially as timekeeping became more precise with the spread of clocks and calendars.

The word fortnight began to fade, particularly in the United States, due to linguistic divergence between British and American English. When British colonists arrived in America, many Old English terms persisted, but as American English evolved, it embraced simpler and more direct expressions. The influence of the American educational system and the mass media further reinforced the use of “two weeks,” which eventually became more common in daily speech in the U.S.

As societies became more industrialized and less dependent on agrarian cycles, the need for terms like fortnight, which were tied to natural cycles and agricultural rhythms, diminished. The shift towards urbanization and standardized time (with the advent of railroads, precise clocks, and modern calendars) reduced the relevance of a term that was rooted in older timekeeping traditions.

While I previously suggested that many African time traditions revolve around communal activities and task completion rather than strict schedules, this can indeed be a broad and reductive generalization. Africa is home to a vast array of cultures, each with its own relationship to time, influenced by historical, environmental, and social factors.

Among many African communities, time can be seen as more event-based, but it’s not simply “fluid” in the sense that nothing is fixed. Instead, time is often organized around significant communal milestones, rituals, and events. The idea of African time often references a perception that time unfolds according to the importance of the event, and people prioritize the event’s significance over punctuality. This doesn’t mean time is disorganized; rather, it reflects a different prioritization of what is meaningful in the social context.

The Kikuyu people of Kenya traditionally use a calendar system based on agricultural and environmental cycles. Their sense of time revolves around these recurring seasons, yet within those seasons, important events like communal planting or rituals take precedence over strict clock-based schedules. It’s a task-based, cyclical time, but still a system structured around deeply significant communal duties.

Different African regions, particularly urban areas, do follow more Western, clock-based systems today, especially in business and formal education. However, rural areas may still adhere more closely to event-based time perceptions, where gatherings and communal work take precedence over the ticking clock. In cities like Lagos or Nairobi, punctuality in business and education systems is more closely tied to globalized and industrialized schedules. In contrast, in smaller, rural communities, this isn’t always the case. So, while the fluidity of time can be observed in certain settings, it isn’t a universal rule across all African societies.

With the rise of modern timekeeping tools (calendars, clocks, and now digital devices), words like fortnight became less necessary. People increasingly operated on exact dates and deadlines rather than intervals like fortnights or sennights. In American culture, which tends to prefer direct and efficient expressions, fortnight likely seemed archaic and was replaced by more straightforward terms like “two weeks.”