anniversary

The word “anniversary” means the yearly date on which a significant past event, such as a wedding, is remembered or celebrated. In plain terms, the yearly date marking a past event.

“Anniversary” is pronounced a-nih-VURS-ree (/ˌænɪˈvɝs(ə)ɹi/ in IPA).

Here is “anniversary” used in a sentence: “They celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary in Italy.”

Words with a similar meaning to “anniversary” include anniv, yearday and yeartide.

“Anniversary” is a noun.

The word “anniversary” comes from Medieval Latin. From Medieval Latin anniversarius ("returning yearly"), from annus ("year") + versus, from vertere ("to turn").

“Anniversary” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

Both return once a year, but a birthday marks the day a person was born, while an anniversary marks any significant past event on its yearly date — a wedding, a first meeting, a company's founding. Every birthday is technically an anniversary of a birth, but not every anniversary is a birthday.

No. Weddings are the most common example, but an anniversary can mark any notable event remembered year after year — the anniversary of a business opening, a historic battle, a loved one's passing or a country's independence. The word simply means the yearly return of a meaningful date.

Certain years have traditional names, often linked to gift materials. The best known are the silver anniversary at 25 years, the ruby at 40, the golden at 50 and the diamond at 60. Earlier years have their own themes too, such as paper for the first and wood for the fifth.