the year 1066 'one thousand and sixty-six'

[GeneD]

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]

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

 

[probus]

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]

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]

A hundred more is one thousand one hundred sixty-six.

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

 

[Tarheel]

It's possible.

 

[Tdol]

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

 

[Tarheel]

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

I guess that includes me.
;-)

 

[GoesStation]

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

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

 

[probus]

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]

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]

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.