the year 1066 'one thousand and sixty-six'

GeneD · Oct 29, 2020

I've just read an article on how to say years in English, and there is a tiny thing I'd like to be sure of. Is it possible/natural to name the year 1066 'one thousand and sixty-six'? Or is 'ten sixty-six' is the only option?

GoesStation · Oct 29, 2020

"Ten sixty-six" is much more natural to me, but "one thousand [and] sixty-six" is not impossible.

probus · Oct 29, 2020

I fully concur with GoesStation but ten sixty-six is such a well-known date that it's very unlikely you would ever hear anything else. By the way, here's a wonderful book:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1066_and_All_That

Charlie Bernstein · Oct 29, 2020

If it's a year, it's definitely ten sixty-six. That's the only way we'd say it. One year later is ten sixty-seven. A hundred years later is eleven sixty-six.

If it's not a year, it's definitely one thousand sixty-six. Again, that's the only way we'd say it. One more is one thousand sixty-seven. A hundred more is one thousand one hundred sixty-six.

Tdol · Oct 30, 2020

Charlie Bernstein said:
A hundred more is one thousand one hundred sixty-six.

Do you ever use eleven hundred as a non-year number in AmE?

Tarheel · Oct 30, 2020

It's possible.

Tdol · Oct 30, 2020

We have it in BrE, though mostly among older speakers.

Tarheel · Oct 30, 2020

Tdol said:
We have it in BrE, though mostly among older speakers.

I guess that includes me.
;-)

GoesStation · Oct 30, 2020

Tdol said:
Do you ever use eleven hundred as a non-year number in AmE?

Sure. For example: That trailer cost me eleven-hundred dollars.

probus · Oct 30, 2020

Tdol said:
We have it in BrE, though mostly among older speakers.

As a (much) older speaker I still have the quaint habit of writing cheques. It's shorter and quicker to write say eighteen hundred than one thousand eight hundred, so I always choose that briefer option.

jutfrank · Oct 31, 2020

In answer to the original question, my answer is a clear: no, it's not right. Don't start any year of the last millennium with one thousand. Each year of each century of the last millennium begins: ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, etc.

The sole exception is the year 1000—we don't normally say ten hundred.

Charlie Bernstein · Oct 31, 2020

jutfrank said:
In answer to the original question, my answer is a clear: no, it's not right. Don't start any year of the last millennium with one thousand. Each year of each century of the last millennium begins: ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, etc.

The sole exception is the year 1000—we don't normally say ten hundred.

Yup. That's what I meant. And 2000 is two thousand. And so on.

Oh, and one other thing: For years from one to nine of each century, we use oh: 1908 is nineteen oh-eight.

the year 1066 'one thousand and sixty-six'

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