décadas

A década, or décadas in plural, is a period of ten consecutive years used as a unit of historical time. The term is used in Spanish and Portuguese as well as in many other languages to describe a block of time in which social, political, and cultural changes are observed. Etymologically, the word derives from the idea of ten, through French décade or related forms, and is connected to Latin and Greek roots for ten.

In calendar terms, a decade typically runs from a year ending in 0 through the year ending in 9 (for example, 1960–1969 or 1990–1999). In everyday speech, decades are commonly named by their label (the 1960s, the 1980s, the 1990s), rather than by a strict start-and-end definition, though the calendar-based convention is widely understood.

Decades are a convenient unit for analyzing historical trends, politics, economics, technology, and culture. They provide a mid-range scope between year-to-year fluctuations and longer historical eras. Examples often cited include the 1960s with civil rights movements and space exploration, the 1980s with the rise of personal computing and global media, and the 1990s with the expansion of the internet and globalization. Some decades have regionally specific descriptors, such as the “lost decade” used for Japan in the 1990s, reflecting unique economic or social circumstances.

In Spanish and Portuguese usage, décadas play a similar role to the English term, organizing discussion and data into roughly ten-year blocks. They facilitate historiography, journalism, and statistical analysis by providing a common temporal framework.

See also: time, calendar, era, century.