What term names the 250th anniversary celebrated by America's America250 program?
Answer
Semiquincentennial
The term for the 250th anniversary celebrated by America250 is semiquincentennial.
The word combines “semi,” meaning half, with “quincentennial,” meaning a 500th anniversary. A 250th anniversary is therefore half of 500 years. The United States semiquincentennial commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, approved in 1776.
The word is less familiar than bicentennial, which describes a 200th anniversary. The United States marked its bicentennial in 1976, while its centennial took place in 1876. The 2026 observance uses the formal term semiquincentennial alongside the public-facing America250 name.
Other terms have occasionally appeared in discussions of a 250th anniversary, including “quarter millennium” and “bisesquicentennial.” Semiquincentennial is the standard term used for the national commemoration and its official commission.