Fin de siècle is French for "End of the Century". The term "turn-of-the-century" is sometimes used as a synonym, but is more neutral (lacking some or most of the connotations described below), and can include the first years of a new century.

Basic connotations

The expression fin de siècle generally refers to the last years of the 19th century. It has connotations of decadence (seen as typical for the last years of a prosperous period, in this case the Belle epoque), and of anticipative excitement about - and/or despair facing - impending change (which is generally expected when a century or time period draws to a close). Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... In logic and in some branches of semantics, connotation is more or less synonymous with intension. ... Decadence was the name given, first by hostile critics, and then triumphantly adopted by some writers themselves, to a number of late nineteenth century fin de siècle writers associated with Symbolism or the Aesthetic movement. ... The Belle poque, or beautiful era, was a period in Frances history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring at the midpoint of the Third Republic, the Belle poque was considered a golden time of beauty, innovation, and peace between France and... A century is one hundred of something, usually one hundred consecutive years, or 100 runs in cricket, or a bicycle ride of 100 miles in a day. ...

That the expression is in French, probably comes from the fact that fin de siècle is particularly associated to certain late 19th century French-speaking circles in Paris and Brussels, exemplified by artists like Stéphane Mallarmé, movements like Symbolism, and works of art like Oscar Wilde's "Salomé" (originally written in French, and premiered in Paris) - which connects the idea of Fin de siècle also to the Aesthetic movement. Also Edvard Munch spent some of his time in Paris around the turn-of-the-century, which was his most melancholy period. The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the de facto capital of the European Union, as two of its three main institutions have their headquarters... An artist is someone who employs creative talent to produce works of art. ... Stéphane Mallarmé (March 18, 1842 – September 9, 1898) was a French poet and critic. ... Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. ... Salomé, originally written in French in 1891 and translated into English, is a tragedy by the Irish-born playwright Oscar Wilde. ... Premiere, from French language première meaning first, generally means a first performance. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The Aesthetic movement is a loosely defined movement in art and literature in later nineteenth century Britain. ... Self portrait, 1895 Edvard Munch (December 12, 1863 – January 23, 1944) was a Norwegian expressionist painter and printmaker. ... Melancholia (Greek μελαγχολια) was described as a distinct disease as early as the fifth and fourth centuries BC in the Hippocratic writings. ...

Broader sense

In a broader sense the expression fin de siècle is used to characterise anything that has an ominous mixture of opulence and/or decadence, combined with a shared prospect of unavoidable radical change. This article is about Omens as divinatory portents. ...

Note that it is not necessarily change itself that is implied in the expression fin de siècle (but rather its anticipation), e.g. for the historical 19th century fin de siècle the radical changes in the cultural and social order would only occur more than a decade after the new century had started (World War I), while by the end of the 19th century the Belle epoque was not even at its height (nor had the Edwardian era, almost seamlessly following the Victorian era, even started). Anticipation can have several meanings: Anticipation is an emotion involving pleasure in considering some expected or longed-for good event, or irritation at having to wait. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Belle poque, or beautiful era, was a period in Frances history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring at the midpoint of the Third Republic, the Belle poque was considered a golden time of beauty, innovation, and peace between France and... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ...

A more recent example of fin de siècle can be found in the Y2K problem: the general turmoil caused by this in itself relatively insignificant technical issue becomes a lot more understandable when acknowledging an underlying fin de siècle mechanism. The War on terror could also be seen to have a definite fin de siècle touch (allegedly anticipating an era without dictators). Even Hitler probably could never have pushed his compatriots thus far in accomplishing his Thousand Year Reich fantasies without the support of fin de siècle-like philosophies (see Millennialism and Nazism), and the fin de siècle atmosphere of the interbellum. Many other 20th century phenomena, e.g. Goth and New Age, could be interpreted as building on at least some fin de siècle ideas. The year 2000 problem (also known as the Y2K problem and the millennium bug) was a flaw in computer program design that caused some date-related processing to operate incorrectly for dates and times on and after January 1, 2000. ... The War on terrorism or War on terror is a global effort by the governments of several countries (primarily the United States and its principal allies) to neutralize international groups it deems as terrorist (primarily radical Islamist terrorist groups, including al-Qaida) and insure rogue nations no longer support terrorist... ERA is an abbreviation for several different things, including: the Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed, but unratified, Constitutional amendment in United States Earned run average, a baseball statistic Engine Room Artificer Education Reform Act Engineering Research Associates, a pioneering computer firm from the 1950s Academy of European Law Trier Explosive... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Millennialism (or chiliasm), from millennium, which literally means thousand years, is primarily a belief expressed in some Christian denominations, folk religions, and literature, that at some point in the future there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth when universal peace will reign, when all people will dwell... An Interbellum is a period between wars. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Goth is a modern subculture that first became popular during the early 1980s within the gothic rock scene, a sub-genre of post punk. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ...

References

• A reference text regarding the 19th century fin de siècle is Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower.