anniversary
nounAU, UK /ˌænɪˈvɜːs(ə)ɹi/ · UK /ˌanɪˈvəːs(ə)ɹi/
Etymology From Middle English anniversary, from Medieval Latin anniversāria (diēs), anniversārium, from anniversārius (“yearly”), from annus (“year”) + versus, past participle of vertere (“to turn”).
1
A day that is an exact number of years (to the day) since a given significant event occurred. Often preceded by an ordinal number indicating the number of years.
- Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war.
- To some extent all anniversaries derive their significance from testing, from contemplating this observation, especially when it concerns cultures as radically different as those of Aboriginal Australia before first contact (and since), and of Georgian England.2020, Angus Trumble, On Endeavour in Australian Waters, National Museum of Australia, archived from the original on 20 Mar 2022:
1 more example
- As we mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we must seize this moment to build a genuine culture of free expression for all.2026 July 1, Fabiola Cineas, “‘The next 250 years belong to all of us’: Seven activists on rebuilding the US”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2026:
2
Especially Such a day that commemorates a wedding.
- We are celebrating our tenth anniversary today.
3
Broadly A day subsequent in time to a given event by some significant period other than a year (especially as prefixed by the amount of time in question).
- The occasion was the six-month anniversary of the Aug. 8 coup that brought General Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores to power.1984 February 27, “Never Mind the Tranquil Facade”, in Time:
- 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.2002 March 14, ‘Politics this Week’, The Economist:
1 more example
- Jonathon proposed to his [Jess's] mom on their three-month anniversary of meeting and married her on their fourth.2006, DB Schrock, Soulmonger Dot Com, page 28:
- Derived terms
29 terms
annish, anniversarian, anniversarily, anniversariness, anniversary clock, anniversary day, birthaversary, blogiversary, dateaversary, decaversary, diamond anniversary, friendiversary, golden anniversary, manniversary, meetaversary, mensiversary, monthiversary, monthsary, paper anniversary, platinum anniversary, ruby anniversary, silver anniversary, tin anniversary, tranniversary, veganniversary, weekiversary, wood anniversary, wooden anniversary, workiversary- Hyponyms
- birthday, Christmas, deathday, saint's day, year's mind, twelvemonth's mind, yearday, coronation day, jubilee, decennalia, vicennalia, tricennalia, yahrzeit