a period of ten consecutive years
She lived in the city for over a decade before moving back home.
Smartphones have changed dramatically in the last decade.
✦ from French décennie, via Latin decem “ten” + -ade forming a group of ten
in Roman Catholic practice, a group of ten Hail Mary prayers forming one section of the Rosary
The family gathered after dinner to pray one decade of the Rosary together.
She moved her fingers to the next bead, signaling the start of a new decade.
✦ extension of the meaning “group of ten” to the ten Hail Marys in a Rosary
in science and engineering, a ten-fold increase or decrease in a quantity on a logarithmic scale
The filter’s gain drops by six decibels per decade of frequency.
A change from 1 kHz to 10 kHz represents one full decade.
✦ scientific extension of the time-based use: a ten-unit jump on a logarithmic scale also called a decade
