period

[sitifan]

She told me that she had arthritis, and that she had had it for five years, ever since she had gone through two traumatic experiences within a two-week period.
Does "period" in the above sentence mean the monthly flow of blood from a woman's womb?

[SoothingDave]

No. It means an interval of time.

[sitifan]

Why not say within two weeks?

[SoothingDave]

Why not say within two weeks?

Because that would mean that these events happened in the past 2 weeks from the time the person wrote the sentence/report/article. By saying they happened in a 2 week period it tells you the duration of the time period, but not exactly which 2 weeks are being talked about.