The Fortnight reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Fortnight

A fortnight is a measure of time equivalent to two weeks: that is 14 dayss, or literally 14 nights. The term is most commonly used in the UK. It derives from the archaic fort meaning fourteen.

In the VMS operating system, some configuration parameters are specified in microfortnights (one millionth of a fortnight, or approximately 1.2096 seconds). Millifortnights (about 20 minutes) and nanofortnights (1.2096 milliseconds) have also been used occasionally in computer science, usually in an attempt to be deliberately over-complex and obscure. The aim is generally to slow users down, to allow them to set parameters, but only after some thought.

Interestingly enough, one 1 attoparsec per microfortnight approximately equals 1 inch per second (the actual figure is 1.0043 inch per second).

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