anniversary

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin adjective anniversarius (“returning yearly”), from annus (“year”) + vertere (“to turn”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌænɪˈvɜːs(ə)ɹi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌænɪˈvɝs(ə)ɹi/, IPA^(key): /ˌænəˈvɝs(ə)ɹi/

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• Audio (UK)

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Noun

anniversary (plural anniversaries)

1. Of a significant event, a day that is an exact number of years (to the day) since the event occurred. Often preceded by an ordinal number indicating the number of years that have elapsed since the event.

   Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war.

2. (loosely) A day subsequent in time to a given event by some (especially significant) factor other than a year (especially as prefixed by the amount of time in question).
   • 1984, ‘Never Mind the Tranquil Facade’, Time, 27 Feb 1984:

     The occasion was the six-month anniversary of the Aug. 8 coup that brought General Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores to power.

   • 2002, ‘Politics this Week’, The Economist, 14 Mar 2002:

     In a thinly veiled threat to Saddam Hussein, President George Bush marked the six-month anniversary of September 11th by reiterating America's commitment to prevent rogue countries obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

   • 2006, DB Schrock, Soulmonger Dot Com, page 28:

     Jonathon proposed to his mom on their three-month anniversary of meeting and married her on their fourth.

3. (more specifically) Such, where the event is a wedding.

   We are celebrating our tenth anniversary today.

See also

• birthday