biennial

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: bi=en=ni=al

CIDE DICTIONARY

biennial, a. [L. biennalis and biennis, fr. biennium a space of two years; bis twice + annus year. Cf. Annual.].

•  Happening, or taking place, once in two years; as, a biennial election.  [1913 Webster]
•  Continuing for two years, and then perishing, as plants which form roots and leaves the first year, and produce fruit the second.  [1913 Webster]

biennial, n. 

•  Something which takes place or appears once in two years; esp. a biennial examination.  [1913 Webster]
•  A plant which exists or lasts for two years.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

biennial, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 lasting two years.
2 recurring every two years (cf. BIANNUAL).
--n.
1 Bot. a plant that takes two years to grow from seed to fruition and die (cf. ANNUAL, PERENNIAL).
2 an event celebrated or taking place every two years.

Derivative

biennially adv.

Etymology

L biennis (as BI-, annus year)

THESAURUS

biennial

amphibian, angiosperm, anniversary, annual, annual holiday, aquatic plant, biannual, bicentenary, bicentennial, bimonthly, birthday, bissextile day, biweekly, catamenial, centenary, centennial, commemoration, cosmopolite, cutting, daily, decennial, deciduous plant, diamond jubilee, dicot, dicotyledon, diurnal, ephemeral, evergreen, exotic, flowering plant, fortnightly, fungus, gametophyte, golden wedding anniversary, gymnosperm, hebdomadal, holy days, hourly, hydrophyte, immovable feast, jubilee, leap year, menstrual, momentary, momently, monocot, monocotyl, monthly, name day, natal day, octennial, perennial, plant, polycot, polycotyl, polycotyledon, quadrennial, quarterly, quasquicentennial, quincentenary, quincentennial, quinquennial, quotidian, secular, seed plant, seedling, semestral, semiannual, semimonthly, semiweekly, semiyearly, septennial, sesquicentennial, sextennial, silver wedding anniversary, spermatophyte, sporophyte, tercentenary, tercentennial, tertian, thallophyte, tricennial, triennial, vascular plant, vegetable, wedding anniversary, weed, weekly, yearly

ROGET THESAURUS

biennial

Periodicity

N regularity of recurrence, periodicity, intermittence, beat, oscillation, pulse, pulsation, rhythm, alternation, alternateness, alternativeness, alternity, bout, round, revolution, rotation, turn, say, anniversary, jubilee, centenary, catamenia, courses, menses, menstrual flux, rota, cycle, period, stated time, routine, days of the week, Sunday, Monday, months of the year, January, feast, fast, Christmas, Easter, New Year's day, Allhallows, Allhallowmas, All Saints' Day, All Souls', All Souls' Day, Ash Wednesday, bicentennial, birthday, bissextile, Candlemas, Dewali, groundhog day, Halloween, Hallowmas, Lady day, leap year, Midsummer day, Muharram, woodchuck day, St. Swithin's day, natal day, yearbook, yuletide, punctuality, regularity, steadiness, periodic, periodical, serial, recurrent, cyclical, rhythmical, recurring, intermittent, remittent, alternate, every other, hourly, diurnal, daily, quotidian, tertian, weekly, hebdomadal, hebdomadary, biweekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, catamenial, monthly, menstrual, yearly, annual, biennial, triennial, centennial, secular, paschal, lenten, regular, steady, punctual, regular as clockwork, periodically, at regular intervals, at stated times, at fixed established, at established periods, punctually, de die in diem, from day to day, day by day, by turns, in turn, in rotation, alternately, every other day, off and on, ride and tie, round and round.

Vegetable

N vegetable, vegetable kingdom, flora, verdure, plant, tree, shrub, bush, creeper, herb, herbage, grass, annual, perennial, biennial, triennial, exotic, timber, forest, wood, woodlands, timberland, hurst, frith, holt, weald, park, chase, greenwood, brake, grove, copse, coppice, bocage, tope, clump of trees, thicket, spinet, spinney, underwood, brushwood, scrub, boscage, bosk, ceja, chaparal, motte, arboretum, bush, jungle, prairie, heath, heather, fern, bracken, furze, gorse, whin, grass, turf, pasture, pasturage, turbary, sedge, rush, weed, fungus, mushroom, toadstool, lichen, moss, conferva, mold, growth, alfalfa, alfilaria, banyan, blow, blowth, floret, petiole, pin grass, timothy, yam, yew, zinnia, foliage, branch, bough, ramage, stem, tigella, spray, leaf, flower, blossom, bine, flowering plant, timber tree, fruit tree, pulse, legume, vegetable, vegetal, vegetive, vegitous, herbaceous, herbal, botanic, sylvan, silvan, arborary, arboreous, arborescent, arborical, woody, grassy, verdant, verdurous, floral, mossy, lignous, ligneous, wooden, leguminous, vosky, cespitose, turf-like, turfy, endogenous, exogenous, green-robed senators of mighty woods, this is the forest primeval.