noun
millennium
mih-LEN-ee-um/mɪˈleniəm/
A span of a thousand years.
The calendars mark two dates exactly one millennium apart.
Etymology
The pieces mean “thousand” and “year.” Originally naming the anticipated thousand-year reign of Christ, the word broadened to any period of one thousand years.
In context
building legacies that span a millennium, a thousand years of history whispered in [music] mud and sun.
More examples
- A millennium contains ten centuries.
- The ruins date back more than two millennia.
- Crowds gathered downtown to celebrate the start of a new millennium.
Forms
millennium · millennia · millenniums
millennial adjective — Relating to a thousand-year period.