Millennia

How to spell millennia

9 letters · 4 syllables

The most common mistake is millenia. The letters people get wrong are highlighted.

millenia millennia

What people typed instead

• millenia7 people

How to pronounce millennia

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does millennia mean?

1. nounPeriods of a thousand years each; the plural of millennium.

Millennia in a sentence

• The cave paintings survived for millennia before anyone rediscovered them.

• Geologists measure some processes in millennia rather than centuries.

Where does millennia come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the plural of millennium, a word assembled in the seventeenth century from two Latin building blocks: mille, meaning 'thousand', and annus, meaning 'year'. When the two were joined, the n of annus doubled at the seam, which is exactly why the word carries a double l (from mille) and a double n (from annus); both pairs are the heart of the spelling trap. The neuter Latin plural of millennium is millennia, and English kept that classical ending rather than simply adding an s. The same mille shows up in 'millimetre' and 'million', while annus survives in 'annual' and 'anniversary', so the spelling rewards anyone who remembers it means 'thousands of years'. The form entered learned English writing alongside scholarly discussion of long stretches of history.

How the word is built

• mille- (thousand)
• -enn- (from annus: year)
• -ia (Latin neuter plural ending)