I play Fortnite once per fortnight, on average. Do you know what the difference between those two words is? Well, only in recent years has the title Fortnite become popular and distinct from the word "fortnight."
Fortnite is an online multiplayer video game developed by Epic Games and is currently a global phenomenon, particularly among younger players since it is a free-to-play, easy to get into, and currently dominates popular culture. Many in-game dances and references are replicated by players in real life. Meanwhile, a "fortnight" often refers to a period of time equal to fourteen days, which will be explained below.
Why Is The Game Fortnite Called Fortnite?
We don't know the origin of the name Fortnite, but there are a number of components that likely contributed to it. The original game focuses on a world that has been almost entirely consumed by powerful storms. These storms create monsters known as husks, which are cartoonish, zombie-like creatures that attack players.
As can be seen in the original cinematic trailer below, these players must reinforce a structure - or build a "fort" - to survive the oncoming hordes of husk monsters that appear when there is a fog or night falls. In this way, "fort" and "night" are combined into "fortnight."
However, since the word "fortnight" already exists from the Old English term known as "fēowertyne niht," which denotes a unit of time equal to fourteen days, or fourteen nights, Epic Games likely decided that the name should highlight the construction of forts and surviving through the night. Thus, the title of Fortnite was born.
The use of the word "fortnight" varies within different contexts and has been used in distinct situations throughout history. Here are some of the most common uses for the word.
Fortnight In Astronomy
Within astronomy, a lunar fortnight is considered to be half of a lunar synodic month, which is the period between a full moon and a new moon, as well as the opposite. In this sense, a fortnight refers to 14.77 days.
Fortnight In Sports
Many sporting events operate within a two-week - or approximately half-month - period of time. In tennis, for example, Wimbledon and other significant tournaments are said to last a fortnight, as long as nothing out of the ordinary occurs. Traditionally, both the Summer and Winter Olympics also often take place over just two weeks.
Fortnight In Other languages
A fortnight can extend between fourteen and fifteen days depending on the language. Most often, it is used in languages in which there is no word to denote a two-week period of time.
In Welsh, "pythefnos" means fifteen nights. In Greek, the term "δεκαπενθήμερο" (dekapenthímero) also accounts for fifteen days. The Hindu calendar has a Sanskrit word known as “paksha” to denote one half of a lunar month, which, similar to astrology, is between fourteen and fifteen solar days.
In many languages, such as Spanish, Galician, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Italian, and Romanian, there are various words to denote a period of fifteen days. There are also words that are more commonly used in contemporary languages, such as "biweekly" in English, "bisemanal" in Spanish, "bissemanal" in Portgueuse, "bisetmanal" in Catalan, "bisettimanale" in Italan, and "bihebdomadaire" in French.
Famous Uses Of Fortnight
The term "fortnight" has mostly fallen out of contemporary use within North America in day-to-day conversation and writing. In the Cheers episode “Rich Man, Wood Man”, which aired in 1992, Woody uses the expression after returning from a trip to London to indicate that he picked up strange habits and sayings that have no place in a blue-collar bar, much to the annoyance of Frasier, Cliff, and Rebeca.
The word "fortnight" also appears once in writer Donald Barthelme’s “Sentence”, which, at 2,569 words, is known for being one of the longest sentences in the world.
Modern Uses Of Fortnight
Overall, the word "fortnight" has fallen out of vogue in recent years. A quick search in the Worldcat Library system, a network that combines most of the largest university libraries in the world, reveals that the term “fortnight” is either a keyword or subject word. Additionally, the top 50 relevant findings range in publications from the 1600s to the early twentieth century.
In some cases, as mentioned previously, the word is demonstrated as relating to sporting events. For example, there is a promotion for Wimbledon that has the following phrase: “Center court. Grass surfaces. Strawberries and cream. What better way to spend a fortnight in old London Town?”
To understand the shift away from the use of the word "fortnight," we should revisit Fortnite, the video game, for a better understanding of the word today. Over time, words and symbols can develop different meanings.
Fortnite The Game
As stated, Fortnite is a global phenomenon right now, emerging as a massive player in the growing industry of esports and is so popular with today’s youth that searching for the term “fortnight” on YouTube or Google still suggests content related to Fortnite the video game. Even if the term "fortnight" has been declining in popularity on its own, the introduction of Fortnite has fundamentally shifted how people consider and use the similar-sounding word, despite the fact that it means something completely different.
For this reason, we are not likely to see the return of "fortnight" as it was previously used in the English language. However, Fortnite is likely to continue to be a global presence for years to come.