sb. and a. [ad. L. quinquāgēnāri-us consisting of fifty, fifty years old, captain of fifty, f. quinquāgēnī, distrib. of quinquāgintā fifty: cf. F. quinquagénaire.]
A. sb. † 1. = QUINQUAGENARIAN sb. 1. Obs. rare.
1382. Wyclif, Deut. i. 15. I haue ordeynd hem … tribunes, and centuriouns, and quynquagenaryes.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 59/2. Moyses … ordeyned them … tribunes Centuriones quinquagenaries.
2. A fiftieth year or anniversary.
1588. J. Harvey, Disc. Probl., 25. The Quinquagenarie, or 50. yeere,… termed the yeere of Iubilee.
1894. Westm. Gaz., 28 June, 2/2. Rossall, which has been celebrating its jubilee—not a quingentenary like Winchester, but a modest quinquagenary.
B. adj. QUINQUAGENARIAN a. 2.
1715. trans. Pancirollus’ Rerum Mem., I. IV. viii. 171. The Servant of Claudius, had in his Time a Quinquagenary Charger, which was valu’d at 5000 Crowns.
1829. Bentham, Lett. to O’Connell, 10 Nov., Wks. 1843, XI. 28. My dear quinquagenary child shall never more be thus tormented by … his octogenary … guardian.
