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There seems to be a fair amount of confusion surrounding the meaning of the prefix bi when used with units of time measurement. Biweekly, according to dictionary.com, can mean either "occurring twice weekly," or "occurring once every two weeks." Falling within the same realm of confusion are bimonthly and biannually.

As of late, it seems that we've begun replacing the bi prefix with semi when the intended meaning is "occurring twice within," while continuing to use the former when the intended meaning is "occurring once every other." Though this is a step in the right direction, there still seems to be confusion around proper usage.

Whose genius idea was it to start using the bi prefix to mean two very different things? If my employer told me my pay periods were bimonthly, should I assume they meant semimonthly or once every other month?

RegDwigнt
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Chris Cashwell
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    This question sounds an awful lot like peeving disguised as a question. What are you actually asking here? The identity of the single person who coined a novel usage? – nohat Mar 10 '11 at 00:32
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    I interpret the core of this question as asking "am I right to think that bi- words are currently ambiguous? do most people take them as twice an x, or as once every two x?". This could give helpful answers to potential visitors from the internets. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Mar 10 '11 at 00:53
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    @Cerebrus Yup, I agree. We should interpret this post in the most charitable light, and I think there is a germ of a good question here... – Uticensis Mar 10 '11 at 01:36
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    Clearly the Whose genius idea... rhetorical question is peeving. If this entry is to be kept, perhaps that part should be toned down or removed. – mgkrebbs Mar 10 '11 at 01:36
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    I'm most disappointed that the title wasn't "biweekly, bimonthly, bi-curious." :-) – Hellion Mar 10 '11 at 02:01
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    As you showed, the bi- prefix is ambiguous in this context, so there is no answer for your second question. You can't assume either. (And your first question, of course, is actually just a complaint :) – Kosmonaut Mar 10 '11 at 02:36
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    The question isn't meant to be rhetorical or even peeving, but rather which definition should be considered most accurate. While I can see why you might confuse this for a mini-rant, there were two intentions: to learn the proper usage of the bi prefix, and to help other confused persons searching for the potential differences between bimonthly and semimonthly. I suppose I did indeed get off track, and as such the question did come across a little like a peeve. – Chris Cashwell Mar 10 '11 at 12:55
  • @Chris: The first actual question in your post starts with "Whose genius idea…" So I don't see how you can claim that the question is about "which definition should be considered most accurate". If that question was what you meant, that's what you should have said. :-) – ShreevatsaR Mar 10 '11 at 19:43
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    Well I, for one, wish that the luminaries of this stackexchange, who chose to chide the OP for his turn of phrase, would have concentrated their collective energies on providing more depth in the form of a useful answer. The question (as interpreted by Cerberus) is a very valid one, and I'm sure the community would be enriched if the cognoscenti were to provide a more definitive exposition. – Tom Auger Mar 25 '11 at 13:28

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Looking at the prefixes, bi means two, and semi means half. But the question here, is does that refer to the number of occurrences in the given period, or the number of periods per occurrence? I think that's where the confusion came in, and apparently the coiners of the words were not consistent.

Craig Buchek
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The obvious distinction is between biannual and biennial which although originally cognate from Latin and Italian now seem to have distinct common meanings: twice a year and every two years respectively, even though Wiktionary discourages biannual.

So for weeks and months all you need to do is wait for two forms to arise and then wait for people to decide which is which. Semi- for "half a ...", i.e. "twice a ...", looks a sensible approach.

Henry
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