Septuagenarian
/ˌsɛptuəˈdʒɛnəriən/noun
A person who is between 70 and 79 years old.
Did you know?Septuagenarian ultimately comes from Latin septuaginta, meaning “seventy,” a number traditionally associated in biblical and ancient mathematical symbolism with completeness or a full span.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*septm̥
“The reconstructed numeral root meaning “seven.””
Ancient Greek
Greek
heptá (ἑπτά)
““Seven,” the source of the Greek-based forms in words such as heptagon and heptathlon.”
Classical Latin
Latin
septem
““Seven.””
Classical Latin
Latin
septuaginta
““Seventy,” formed from septem with a decimal-number formation.”
Late Latin
Latin
septuagenarius
““Containing seventy” or “of seventy,” from septuaginta plus the adjective-forming suffix -arius.”
19th Century
English
septuagenarian
“A person in their seventies; the modern noun and adjective developed from Latin septuagenarius.”