forties

forties
forties 1843 as the years of someone's life between 40 and 49; 1840 as a decade of years in a given century. See FORTY (Cf. forty). Also a designation applied in various places and times to certain oligarchies, ruling classes, or governing bodies.
It is well known that society in the island [Guernsey] is, or perhaps we ought to say, for many years was, divided into two sets, called respectively the Sixties and the Forties, the former composed of the old families and those allied to them, the latter of families of newly-acquired wealth and position. ["The Dublin Review," October 1877]
Roaring Forties are rough parts of the ocean between 40 and 50 degrees latitude.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Forties — can mean: *1940s, the years 1940 1949. *Long Forties, area in the North Sea. *Forties oilfield in the North Sea **Forties pipeline system *Roaring Forties …   Wikipedia

  • Forties — For ties, n. pl. See {Forty}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Forties —   [ fɔːtɪːz], bedeutendes Erdölfeld in der Nordsee, 165 km vor der Küste Schottlands, liefert seit 1975 Rohöl durch eine Pipeline über Cruden Bay (nördlich von Aberdeen) nach Grangemouth …   Universal-Lexikon

  • forties — see eighties …   Modern English usage

  • forties — UK [ˈfɔː(r)tɪz] / US [ˈfɔrtɪz] noun [plural] the forties in your forties …   English dictionary

  • Forties — Forty For ty, n.; pl. {Forties} ( t[i^]z). 1. The sum of four tens; forty units or objects. [1913 Webster] 2. A symbol expressing forty units; as, 40, or xl. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Forties — 57° 43′ 00″ N 1° 01′ 00″ W / 57.71666, 1.01666 Forties est le plu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • forties — noun a) The decade of the 1940s. Theyre both in their forties. b) The decade of ones life from age 40 through age 49 …   Wiktionary

  • forties — noun 1. the time of life between 40 and 50 (Freq. 1) • Syn: ↑mid forties • Hypernyms: ↑time of life • Part Holonyms: ↑adulthood, ↑maturity 2. the decade from 1940 to …   Useful english dictionary

  • Forties oilfield — The Forties oilfield is the largest oilfield ever discovered in the North Sea. It was discovered in the 1960s and first produced in 1975 under ownership of BP. By the time they sold the field in 2003, their reservoir engineers estimated the… …   Wikipedia

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