Década

Década is a term used in Spanish and Portuguese to denote a period of ten years. It corresponds to the English word decade and is a common unit for organizing historical, cultural, economic, and social analysis. In ordinary speech, people refer to a particular ten-year span, such as la década de 1990 or a década de los años setenta, to discuss the events and trends that defined that period.

Etymology and sense: Década derives from Latin decas, from Greek dekas, both meaning a group of ten. The word entered Romance languages to label a ten-year interval and is used in calendars, statistics, and historiography as a convenient frame of reference.

Usage notes: Decades are typically defined by calendar years, with a decade running from a year ending in 0 to a year ending in 9 (for example, 1980–1989). In analysis, researchers may discuss a decade to highlight patterns that emerge over roughly ten-year cycles, such as technological adoption, demographic shifts, or political movements. Some contexts prefer naming by the decades themselves (the 1960s, the 1980s), while others use the years as explicit ranges.

Capitalization and disambiguation: When capitalized as Década, the term may appear as a title, a stylistic heading, or as a proper name in a work or organization. In most ordinary uses, however, it is lowercase and refers to the time span rather than a specific entity.

See also: Decade; Dêcada (in other Romance languages); historical periodization.