To determine the meaning of the underlined word "semiannual" in the sentence "The women's club held fundraisers on a semiannual basis," we need to understand the prefix "semi-."
From the table, we see that "semi-" can mean "half in value" or "happening once halfway through a specific time period." Let's break down the definition and apply it to the context of time:
1. Time period: In general, a common time period for annual events is one year (12 months).
2. Halfway through a specific time period: If we consider the specific time period to be one year, halfway through that period is 6 months.
Therefore, if something is happening "semiannually," it occurs once halfway through the year and then again at the end of the year. This means it happens twice in one year, as the events are spaced six months apart.
With this understanding, we can conclude that "semiannual" means:
twice a year
