A more formal word for yearly would be annual.
I pay my school loans annually
I pay my rent check monthly or _____.
What is the equivalent of “annual” for “monthly"?
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2I think there is some confusion here because you are asking for the -ual version of the word—but your example sentences bely that by using a -ually form. Based on your original title and the final sentence in your question, it seems that your examples are misleading rather than clarifying. You should really be using I pay my school's annual loan and I pay my apartment's ___ rent (✘ monthly).– Jason BassfordCommented Jan 31, 2019 at 8:12
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1Caleb, I don't think there is another word for "monthly". Just because one word has a synonym doesn't mean a related term has one. Year, month, fortnight, week, day and hour all have an adjectival form; it just so happens that only yearly has a commonly used synonym, although there's diurnal which is used in a slightly different way to daily (we don't give thanks for our diurnal bread).– Chappo Hasn't ForgottenCommented Jan 31, 2019 at 12:35
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1"Each month." Or, per-month.– steveslivaCommented Jan 31, 2019 at 16:11
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2Merriam-Webster says that the (or a) Latin word for monthly is menstruus, so you could argue that the monthly counterpart to annual is menstrual. This option seems unlikely to catch on in popular usage, however.– Sven YargsCommented Feb 4, 2019 at 22:57
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The difference between annual and yearly is that one comes from Latin and the other comes from Germanic. Monthly is also Germanic, but the Latin word for monthly is mensual (source also of menstrual), and that's just not a common word in English, so there's no reason to use it except to show off one's vocabulary.– John LawlerCommented Sep 14, 2023 at 17:30
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2 Answers
At least Merriam-Webster lists mensual for monthly as an adjective, as in a mensual fee.
For the adverb, that would mean you could use mensually, as in, I pay mensually.
Although I recognise the word, and the same stem is used in some other English words (like menstruation) I doubt the word is very commonly used or recognised (my spell checker doesn't!), so I would be careful about using this word with the expectation that people will understand you...
answered Jan 31, 2019 at 6:09
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Shouldn't it be mensually? How many literate people, excluding the highly educated, would actually know its meaning or its existence? Commented Jan 31, 2019 at 6:57
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@Mari-LouA yes, I forgot to mention that because I saw monthly, but of course, that is both an adjective and an adverb. And indeed, I doubt many people will understand this word readily. Commented Jan 31, 2019 at 7:08
I do not see a better word for something repeating every month other than monthly, which is quite formal. Even if you somehow find one, I think there is a possibility of being misunderstood.
- Words like bi-fortnightly are used sometimes but even that does not equal a month. (fortnight=2 weeks)
Secondly, look at the etymology of the word annual
annus (Latin) meaning year --> annualis (Late Latin) --> annuel (Old French) --> annual (Late Middle English)
- Now, one would naturally look at mensual as the 'annual' equivalent of monthly which comes from the Latin word mensis meaning 'month'.
But you need to be careful as the word mensual is usually comprehended as menstrual (relating to the menses or menstruation), which also has the same root word mensis.
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is usually comprehended as menstrualUsually? Retracting my upvote because I doubt that anyone actually uses the term "mensual" to mean menstruation or period. Commented Jan 31, 2019 at 7:13 -
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2@Mari-Lou A ..I never said anyone would 'use' the term mensual to mean menstruation. If you read again carefully the word I used is 'comprehend'. What I meant is: a majority of the listeners/readers would quickly relate mensual with menstrual. Cheers!– saz521Commented Jan 31, 2019 at 8:58
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1@mary-lou I don't think people would misunderstand 'mensual' as 'menstrual' but many (including me) would be likely to misread or mishear it as such. Just a point, the spell checker on this computer has marked 'mensual' as incorrect which probably says something about its familiarity.– BoldBenCommented Jan 31, 2019 at 10:57
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