We say semimonthly when we describe something happening twice a month. for example "a semimonthly publication", "a semimonthly meeting", etc. Is there any word we can use to describe something that happens three times a month; preferably one word?
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1Have the meeting four times a month, then you can just use weekly ;)– Matt E. ЭлленCommented Apr 13, 2012 at 10:31
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It looks like you are asking this question, also without answer: wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_prefix_that_means_one_third– GEdgarCommented Apr 13, 2012 at 13:31
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Given the potential confusion, wouldn't it easier just to say "every ten days?"– user122101Commented May 18, 2015 at 18:58
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Sesquiweekly?– Peter ShorCommented May 18, 2015 at 19:15
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6 Answers
Trimonthly is, in fact, already in several dictionaries. Problem is, unlike its counterparts bimonthly and biweekly, trimonthly is only defined as occurring every three months, sans a secondary three-times-a-month meaning.
I would recommend thrice-monthly, if you needed to form a single word.
The committee meetings will occur thrice-monthly until this matter is resolved.
EDITS:
As was pointed out in the comment below, the hyphen could be omitted as well.
Also, I'll restate my opening remarks, but add some links:
Although bimonthly can be used either way (see here), that doesn't appear to be the case for trimonthly (see here, here, here, and here). In light of such evidence, I'd be hesitant to use trimonthly when meaning "three times each month."
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+1 for the dictionary support. However, thrice-monthly (with the hyphen) looks awkward; in my own use, I would simply use it as two words. I'm not sure there is a single word.– zpletanCommented Apr 13, 2012 at 12:01
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@zpletan: Astute feedback – thanks! I almost added a comment that the hyphen could be omitted; perhaps I should've listened to my instincts there.– J.R.Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 12:10
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Why bother to use an obsolete form "thrice"-- why not just say e.g. "a three-times-monthly meeting"? Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 15:08
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1It's a matter of preference, but I´d say that if you're going to repeat the phrase so many times that a single extra word/syllable is an issue, then you may as well just invent some term/abbreviation, e.g. define and then write "a 3/m meeting". It also depends on your definition of "compactness": even if you hijacked "trimestrial" and redefined to mean what you want here, it still has the same number of syllables as "three times monthly". It's visually more compact, but does that even matter? Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 15:34
I have not seen that in an official dictionary but I have read in several scientific papers in the past the word "decadaily" used for "every ten days". It made sense to me since "deca" means ten in Greek and it is used in English as a prefix indicating the number 10.
I like thrice-monthly. It is essentially one word, it means three times a month and, unlike trimonthly, is not easily confused to mean 'every three months' instead of 'three times a month'.
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+1 I also like the fact it has a pleasing Ye Olde-fashioned English ring to it too.– immutablCommented Jul 27, 2012 at 13:13
You might consider the rare trimensual.
These forms also exist for the month, although rarely used in English. Nevertheless, I think they sound right, so to speak.
bimensual (adj.), bimensually (adv.) = twice a month
bimestral (adj.), bimestrally (adv.) = every other month
trimensual (adj.), trimensually (adv.) = three times a month
trimestral (adj.), trimestrally (adv.) = every third month
(Note the connection to the word trimester.) Latin had no week, and it seems especially silly to slice up a day in this way (as opposed to speaking of hours), so I guess that's pretty much as far as it goes.
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Trimensual is the first word that came to my mind too, but my spellchecker doesn't like it. Commented Oct 19, 2018 at 13:27
There isn't such a word.
I presume trimonthly would be understood since the days of Harry Potter and the Triwizard Tournament!
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2I would understand trimonthly as something occurring once in three months rather than three times in a month Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 11:44
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@Armin OALD definition of bimonthly is: "produced or happening every two months or twice each month" I would presume that trimonthly would have a similar meaning if it existed!– NaomiCommented Apr 13, 2012 at 11:59
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Indeed, but the definition of trimonthly is "produces or happening every three months" only (see J.R.'s answer). But in any case I think that it's not the definitions that matter. Honestly, when someone said to you "a trimonthly meeting", what would you assume - once in three months or three times a month? Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 12:02
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1@ArmenTsirunyan: I would probably assume 3x in one month, too. But, if I was the meeting's organizer, and I knew what the dictionary said, I would avoid trimonthly. Many folks are already adept enough at finding ways to skip meetings; I wouldn't want to give my more educated invitees a legitimate excuse to miss a follow-up meeting – a meeting they can claim they thought was two months down the road.– J.R.Commented Apr 13, 2012 at 12:33
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I stand corrected, dictionary evidence (JR) is overwhelming.. but just out of curiosity, why not just say three times a month??– NaomiCommented Apr 13, 2012 at 17:24
Decadaily implies that the meetings happen every ten days and therefore could not happen on the same day of the week.
