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What is a pentagenarian? A Guide to the Decade of Fifty

While the term is uncommon, the prefix "penta" means five, leading many to assume a pentagenarian is someone in their fifties. This is a common mix-up with the correctly derived and more widely used term, quinquagenarian. **What is a pentagenarian?** It's a question rooted in a linguistic misunderstanding, but one that leads to a fascinating exploration of the language of aging.