"Days of the Week" redirects here. For the song by Stone Temple Pilots, see Days of the Week (song)

The names of the days of the week in many languages are derived from the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astrology, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. In some other languages, the days are named after corresponding deities of the regional culture, either beginning with Sunday or with Monday. In the international standard ISO 8601, Monday is treated as the first day of the week.

Days named after planets [ edit ]

Greco-Roman tradition [ edit ]

Between the 1st and 3rd centuries, the Roman Empire gradually replaced the eight-day Roman nundinal cycle with the seven-day week. Our earliest evidence for this new system is a Pompeiian graffito referring to 6 February (viii idus Februarius) of the year AD 60 as dies solis ("Sunday").[1] Another early witness is a reference to a lost treatise by Plutarch, written in about AD 100, which addressed the question of Why are the days named after the planets reckoned in a different order from the actual order?.[2]

The days were named after the planets of Hellenistic astrology, in the order Sun, Moon, Mars (Ares), Mercury (Hermes), Jupiter (Zeus), Venus (Aphrodite) and Saturn (Cronos).[3]

The seven-day week spread throughout the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. By the 4th century, it was in wide use throughout the Empire, and it had also reached India and China.

The Greek and Latin names are as follows:

Romance languages [ edit ]

Except for modern Portuguese and Mirandese, the Romance languages preserved the Latin names, except for the names of Sunday, which was replaced by [dies] Dominicus (Dominica), i.e. "the Lord's Day" and of Saturday, which was named for the Sabbath. In Corsican, the Saturday is known either by Sabatu or De Sadorn.

Celtic languages [ edit ]

Early Old Irish adopted the names from Latin, but introduced separate terms of Norse origin for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, then later supplanted these with terms relating to church fasting practices.

Adoptions from Romance [ edit ]

Albanian adopted the Latin terms for Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, adopted translations of the Latin terms for Sunday and Monday, and kept native terms for Thursday and Friday. Other languages adopted the week together with the Latin (Romance) names for the days of the week in the colonial period. Some constructed languages also adopted the Latin terminology.

Germanic tradition [ edit ]

The Germanic peoples adapted the system introduced by the Romans by substituting the Germanic deities for the Roman ones (with the exception of Saturday) in a process known as interpretatio germanica. The date of the introduction of this system is not known exactly, but it must have happened later than AD 200 but before the introduction of Christianity during the 6th to 7th centuries, i.e., during the final phase or soon after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.[13] This period is later than the Common Germanic stage, but still during the phase of undifferentiated West Germanic. The names of the days of the week in North Germanic languages were not calqued from Latin directly, but taken from the West Germanic names.

Sunday : Old English Sunnandæg ( pronounced [ˈsunnɑndæj] dies Solis . English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the day's association with the sun. Many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed its name to the equivalent of "the Lord's day" (based on Ecclesiastical Latin dies Dominica ). In both West Germanic and North Germanic mythology, the Sun is personified as Sunna/Sól.

: Old English ( . English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the day's association with the sun. Many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed its name to the equivalent of "the Lord's day" (based on Ecclesiastical Latin ). In both West Germanic and North Germanic mythology, the Sun is personified as Sunna/Sól. Monday : Old English Mōnandæg ( pronounced [ˈmoːnɑndæj] dies lunae . In North Germanic mythology, the Moon is personified as Máni.

: Old English ( . In North Germanic mythology, the Moon is personified as Máni. Tuesday : Old English Tīwesdæg ( pronounced [ˈtiːwezdæj] Tiw (Norse Týr ) was a one-handed god associated with single combat and pledges in Norse mythology and also attested prominently in wider Germanic paganism. The name of the day is also related to the Latin name dies Martis , "Day of Mars".

: Old English ( Tiw (Norse ) was a one-handed god associated with single combat and pledges in Norse mythology and also attested prominently in wider Germanic paganism. The name of the day is also related to the Latin name , "Day of Mars". Wednesday : Old English Wōdnesdæg ( pronounced [ˈwoːdnezdæj] Woden (known as Óðinn among the North Germanic peoples), and a prominent god of the Anglo-Saxons (and other Germanic peoples) in England until about the seventh century. It is also vaguely related to the Latin counterpart dies Mercurii , "Day of Mercury". The Icelandic Miðviku , German Mittwoch , Low German Middeweek and Finnish keskiviikko all mean mid-week.

: Old English ( Woden (known as Óðinn among the North Germanic peoples), and a prominent god of the Anglo-Saxons (and other Germanic peoples) in England until about the seventh century. It is also vaguely related to the Latin counterpart , "Day of Mercury". The Icelandic , German , Low German and Finnish all mean mid-week. Thursday : Old English Þūnresdæg ( pronounced [ˈθuːnrezdæj] thunder or its personification, the Norse god known in Modern English as Thor. Similarly Dutch donderdag , German Donnerstag ('thunder's day'), Finnish torstai , and Scandinavian Torsdag ('Thor's day'). Thor's day corresponds to Latin dies Iovis , "day of Jupiter".

: Old English ( thunder or its personification, the Norse god known in Modern English as Thor. Similarly Dutch , German ('thunder's day'), Finnish , and Scandinavian ('Thor's day'). Thor's day corresponds to Latin , "day of Jupiter". Friday : Old English Frīgedæg ( pronounced [ˈfriːjedæj] Fríge. The Norse name for the planet Venus was Friggjarstjarna, 'Frigg's star'. It is based on the Latin dies Veneris , "Day of Venus".

: Old English ( Fríge. The Norse name for the planet Venus was Friggjarstjarna, 'Frigg's star'. It is based on the Latin , "Day of Venus". Saturday: named after the Roman god Saturn associated with the Titan Cronus, father of Zeus and many Olympians. Its original Anglo-Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg ( pronounced [ˈsæturnezdæj] dies Saturni, "Day of Saturn". The Scandinavian Lørdag/Lördag deviates significantly as it has no reference to either the Norse or the Roman pantheon; it derives from old Norse laugardagr, literally "washing-day". The German Sonnabend (mainly used in northern and eastern Germany) and the Low German words Sünnavend mean "Sunday Eve", the German word Samstag (mainly used in southern and western Germany) derives from the name for Shabbat.

Adoptions from Germanic [ edit ]

Day:

(see Irregularities) Sunday

Sunna/Sól Monday

Mona/Máni Tuesday

Tiw/Tyr Wednesday

Woden/Odin Thursday

Thunor/Thor Friday

Frige or Freya Saturday

Saturn Finnish sunnuntai maanantai tiistai keskiviikko [☿1] torstai perjantai lauantai [♄2] Estonian pühapäev [☉2] esmaspäev teisipäev kolmapäev neljapäev reede laupäev [♄2] Maori (transliteration; translation) Wiki[☉8]; Rātapu Mane; Rāhina Tūrei; Rātū Wenerei; Rāapa Tāite; Rāpare Paraire; Rāmere Hāterei; Rāhoroi

Indian tradition [ edit ]

Hindu astrology uses the concept of days under the regency of a planet under the term vāra, the days of the week being called āditya-, soma-, maṅgala-, budha-, guru-, śukra-, and śani-vāra. śukrá is a name of Venus (regarded as a son of Bhṛgu); guru is here a title of Bṛhaspati, and hence of Jupiter; budha "Mercury" is regarded as a son of Soma, i.e. the Moon.[14] Knowledge of Greek astrology existed since about the 2nd century BC, but references to the vāra occur somewhat later, during the Gupta period (Yājñavalkya Smṛti, c. 3rd to 5th century), i.e. at roughly the same period the system was introduced in the Roman Empire.[citation needed]

South Asian languages [ edit ]

Sunday

the Sun

(Aditya, Ravi) Monday

the Moon

(Soma, Chandra, Indu) Tuesday

Mars

(Mangala) Wednesday

Mercury

(Budha) Thursday

Jupiter

(Bṛhaspati, Guru) Friday

Venus

(Shukra) Saturday

Saturn

(Shani) Balti Adeed

عدید Tsandar

چَندار Angaru

انگارو Botu

بوتو Brespod

بریس پود Shugoru

شوگورو Shingsher

شنگشر Bengali রবিবার/রোববার

Robibar/Robobar সোমবার

Shombar মঙ্গলবার

Monggolbar বুধবার

Budhbar বৃহস্পতিবার

Brihôshpotibar শুক্রবার

Shukrobar শনিবার

Shonibar Bhojpuri एतवार

Aitwār सोमार

Somār मंगर

Mangar बुध

Budh बियफे

Bi'phey सुक्क

Sukk सनिच्चर

Sanichchar Burushaski Adit

ادیت Chandoro

چندورؤ Angaro

نگارو Bodo

بوڈو Berayspat

بیرے سپاٹ Shukuro

شوک ورؤ Shemshayr

شیم شےر Chitrali

(Khowar) Yakshambey

یک شمبے Doshambey

دو شمبے [☽4] Seshambey

سہ شمبے Charshambey

چار شمبے Pachambey

پچھمبے Adina

آدینہ [♀3] Shambey

شمبے Gujarati રવિવાર

Ravivār સોમવાર

Somvār મંગળવાર

Mangaḷvār બુધવાર

Budhvār ગુરૂવાર

Guruvār શુક્રવાર

Shukravār શનિવાર

Shanivār Hindi रविवार

Ravivār सोमवार

Somavār मंगलवार

Mangalavār बुधवार

Budhavār गुरूवार

Guruvār शुक्रवार

Shukravār शनिवार

Shanivār Hindko Atwaar

اتوار Suwar

سؤ وار Mungal

منگل Bud

بدھ Jumiraat

جمعرات Jummah

جمعہ Khali

خالي Konkani आयतार

Āytār सोमार

Somaar मंगळार

Mangaḷār बुधवार

Budhavār भीरेस्तार

Bhirestār शुक्रार

Shukrār शेनवार

Shenvār Maldivian އާދީއްތަ

Aadheettha ހޯމަ

Homa އަންގާރަ

Angaara ބުދަ

Budha ބުރާސްފަތި

Buraasfathi ހުކުރު

Hukuru ހޮނިހިރު

Honihiru Marathi रविवार

Ravivār सोमवार

Somavār मंगळवार

Mangaḷavār बुधवार

Budhavār गुरूवार

Guruvār शुक्रवार

Shukravār शनिवार

Shanivār Kashmiri Āthvār

आथु'वार اَتھ وار Çāņdėrvār

च़'न्दु'रवार ژندر وار Bomvār

बोमवार پم وار Bödvār

बॅदवार برھ وار Brêsvār

ब्रसवार برس وار Shokụrvār / Jumāh

शो'कु'रवार شۆکٕروار

जुमाह جُمھ Baţėvār

बटु'वार بٹ وار Kannada ಭಾನುವಾರ

Bhanu Vaara ಸೋಮವಾರ

Soma Vaara ಮಂಗಳವಾರ

Mangala Vaara ಬುಧವಾರ

Budha Vaara ಗುರುವಾರ

Guru Vaara ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ

Shukra Vaara ಶನಿವಾರ

Shani Vaara Malayalam ഞായര്‍

Nhāyar തിങ്കള്‍

Tingal ചൊവ്വ

Chovva ബുധന്‍

Budhan വ്യാഴം

Vyāzham വെള്ളി

Velli ശനി

Shani Nepali आइतवार

Aaitabar सोमवार

Sombar मंगलवार

Mangalbar बुधवार

Budhabar बिहिवार

Bihibar शुक्रवार

Sukrabar शनिवार

Sanibar Pashto Etwar

اتوار Gul

ګل Nehi

نهه Shoro

شورو Ziarat

زيارت Jumma

جمعه Khali

خالي Punjabi

(Gurmukhi) ਐਤਵਾਰ

etvār ਸੋਮਵਾਰ

sōmvār ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ

mangalvār ਬੁੱਧਵਾਰ

búdvār ਵੀਰਵਾਰ

vīrvār ਸ਼ੁੱਕਰਵਾਰ

shukkarvār ਸ਼ਨਿੱਚਰਵਾਰ

shaniccharvār Odia ରବିବାର

Rabibār ସୋମବାର

Sombār ମଙ୍ଗଳବାର

Mangalbār ବୁଧବାର

Buddhbār ଗୁରୁବାର

Gurubār ଶୁକ୍ରବାର

Shukrabār ଶନିବାର

Shanibār Sinhala ඉරිදා

Irida සඳුදා

Sanduda අඟහරුවාදා

Angaharuwada බදාදා

Badada බ්‍රහස්පතින්දා

Brahaspathinda සිකුරාදා

Sikurada සෙනසුරාදා

Senasurada Telugu ఆదివారం

Aadi Vāram సోమవారం

Soma Vāram మంగళవారం

Mangala Vāram బుధవారం

Budha Vāram గురువారం

Bestha/Guru/Lakshmi Vāram శుక్రవారం

Shukra Vāram శనివారం

Shani Vāram Tamil ஞாயிறு

Gnyāyiru திங்கள்

Thingal செவ்வாய்

Chevvāi புதன்

Budhan வியாழன்

Viyāzhan வெள்ளி

Velli சனி

Sani Sanskrit भानुवासरम्

Bhānuvāsaram इन्दुवासरम्

Induvāsaram भौमवासरम्

Bhaumavāsaram सौम्यवासरम्

Saumyavāsaram गुरुवासरम्

Guruvāsaram भृगुवासरम्

Bhṛguvāsaram स्थिरवासरम्

Sthiravāsaram Shina Adit

ادیت Tsunduro

تساند ورؤ Ungaro

نگارو Budo

بوڈو Brespat

بیرے سپاٹ Shukur

شوکر Shimsher

شیم شےر Sindhi Aacheru

آچر Soomaru

سومر Angaro

انڱارو Arbau

اربع Kameesa

خميس Jum'o

جمعو Chancher

ڇنڇر Sylheti ꠞꠛꠤꠛꠣꠞ

Robibar ꠡꠝꠛꠣꠞ

Shombar ꠝꠋꠉꠟꠛꠣꠞ

Mongolbar ꠛꠥꠗꠛꠣꠞ

Budhbar ꠛꠤꠡꠥꠗꠛꠣꠞ

Bishudhbar ꠡꠥꠇ꠆ꠇꠥꠞꠛꠣꠞ/ꠎꠃꠝ꠆ꠝꠣꠛꠣꠞ

Shukkurbar/Jummabar ꠡꠘꠤꠛꠣꠞ

Shonibar Urdu Itwār

اتوار Pīr

پیر [☽4] Mangal

منگل Bodh

بدھ Jumārāt

جمعرات Jummah

جمعہ [♀4] Heftah

ہفتہ [♄6] Western Punjabi

(Shahmukhi) Aitwār

اتوار Pīr

پیر Mangal

منگل Budh

بدھ Jumāy-rāt

جمعرات Jummah

جمعہ Hafta

ہفتہ

Southeast Asian languages [ edit ]

The Southeast Asian tradition also uses the Hindu names of the days of the week. Hindu astrology adopted the concept of days under the regency of a planet under the term vāra, the days of the week being called āditya-, soma-, maṅgala-, budha-, guru-, śukra-, and śani-vāra. śukrá is a name of Venus (regarded as a son of Bhṛgu); guru is here a title of Bṛhaspati, and hence of Jupiter; budha "Mercury" is regarded as a son of Soma, i.e. the Moon.[15]

East Asian languages [ edit ]

Sunday

the Sun

(Aditya, Ravi) Monday

the Moon

(Soma, Chandra, Indu) Tuesday

Mars

(Mangala) Wednesday

Mercury

(Budha) Thursday

Jupiter

(Bṛhaspati, Guru) Friday

Venus

(Shukra) Saturday

Saturn

(Shani) Mongolian адъяа

ad'yaa сумъяа

sum'yaa ангараг

angarag буд

bud бархабадь

barhabad' сугар

sugar санчир

sanchir

East Asian tradition [ edit ]

The East Asian naming system for the days of the week closely parallels that of the Latin system and is ordered after the "Seven Luminaries" (七曜 qī yào), which consists of the Sun, Moon and the five planets visible to the naked eye.

The Chinese seem to have adopted the seven-day week from the Hellenistic system by the 4th century, although by which route is not entirely clear. It was again transmitted to China in the 8th century by Manichaeans, via the country of Kang (a Central Asian polity near Samarkand).[16] The 4th-century date, according to the Cihai encyclopedia,[year needed] is due to a reference to Fan Ning (範寧/范宁), an astrologer of the Jin Dynasty. The renewed adoption from Manichaeans in the 8th century (Tang Dynasty) is documented with the writings of the Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing and the Ceylonese Buddhist monk Bu Kong.

The Chinese transliteration of the planetary system was soon brought to Japan by the Japanese monk Kobo Daishi; surviving diaries of the Japanese statesman Fujiwara Michinaga show the seven day system in use in Heian Period Japan as early as 1007. In Japan, the seven day system was kept in use (for astrological purposes) until its promotion to a full-fledged (Western-style) calendrical basis during the Meiji era. In China, with the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, Monday through Saturday in China are now named after the luminaries implicitly with the numbers.

For more information on the Chinese ten-day week, see Chinese calendar

Pronunciations for Classical Chinese names are given in Standard Chinese.

Numbered days of the week [ edit ]

Days numbered from Sunday [ edit ]

Sunday comes first in order in calendars shown in the table below. In the Judeo-Christian or Abrahamic tradition, the first day of the week is Sunday. Biblical Sabbath (corresponding to Saturday), when God rested from six-day Creation, made the day following Sabbath the first day of the week (corresponding to Sunday). Seventh-day Sabbaths were sanctified for celebration and rest. After the week was adopted in early Christianity, Sunday remained the first day of the week, but also gradually displaced Saturday as the day of celebration and rest, being considered the Lord's Day.

Saint Martin of Dumio (c. 520–580), archbishop of Braga, decided not to call days by pagan gods and to use ecclesiastic terminology to designate them. While the custom of numbering the days of the week was mostly prevalent in the Eastern Church, Portuguese and Galician, due to Martin's influence, are the only Romance languages in which the names of the days come from numbers rather than planetary names.[17]

Icelandic is a special case within the Germanic languages, maintaining only the Sun and Moon (sunnudagur and mánudagur respectively), while dispensing with the names of the explicitly heathen gods in favour of a combination of numbered days and days whose names are linked to pious or domestic routine (föstudagur, "Fasting Day" and laugardagur, "Washing Day"). The "washing day" is also used in other North Germanic languages, but otherwise the names correspond to those of English.

Days numbered from Monday [ edit ]

The ISO prescribes Monday as the first day of the week with ISO-8601 for software date formats.

The Slavic, Baltic and Uralic languages (except Finnish and partially Estonian) adopted numbering but took Monday rather than Sunday as the "first day".[18] This convention is also found in some Austronesian languages whose speakers were converted to Christianity by European missionaries.[19]

In Slavic languages, some of the names correspond to numerals after Sunday: compare Russian vtornik "Tuesday" and vtoroj "the following", chetverg "Thursday" and chetvertyj "the fourth", pyatnitsa "Friday" and pyatyj "the fifth"; see also the Notes.

In Standard Chinese, the week is referred to as the cycle of the stars (Chinese: 星期; pinyin: Xīngqī). The modern Chinese names for the days of the week are based on a simple numerical sequence. The word for "week" (which is literally translated to "star day") is followed by a number indicating the day: "Monday" is literally "star day one", "Tuesday" is "star day two", etc. The exception is Sunday, where rì (日), meaning "sun" or "day", is used instead of a number.[21]

Days numbered from Saturday [ edit ]

In Swahili, the day begins at sunrise, unlike in the Arabic and Hebrew calendars where the day starts at sunset (therefore an offset of twelve hours), and unlike in the Western world where the day starts at midnight (therefore an offset of six hours). Saturday is therefore the first day of the week, as it is the day that includes the first night of the week in Arabic.

Etymologically speaking, Swahili has two "fifth" days. The words for Saturday through Wednesday contain the Bantu-derived Swahili words for "one" through "five". The word for Thursday, Alhamisi, is of Arabic origin and means "the fifth" (day). The word for Friday, Ijumaa, is also Arabic and means (day of) "gathering" for the Friday noon prayers in Islam.

Day

Number from One Saturday

Day One Sunday

Day Two Monday

Day Three Tuesday

Day Four Wednesday

Day Five Thursday

Day Six Friday

Day Seven Swahili[22] jumamosi jumapili jumatatu jumanne jumatano alhamisi [♃2] ijumaa [♀4]

Mixing of numbering and astronomy [ edit ]

In the Žejane dialect of Istro-Romanian, lur (Monday) and virer (Friday) follow the Latin convention, while utorek (Tuesday), sredu (Wednesday), and četrtok (Thursday) follow the Slavic convention.[23]

Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Istro-Romanian, Žejane dialect lur utorek sredu četrtok virer simbota [♄1] dumireca [☉1]

There are several systems in the different Basque dialects.[24]

In Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino), which is mainly based on a medieval version of Spanish, the five days of Monday–Friday closely follow the Spanish names. Sunday uses the Arabic name, which is based on numbering, because a Jewish language was not likely to adapt a name based on "Lord's Day" for Sunday. As in Spanish, the Ladino name for Saturday is based on Sabbath. However, as a Jewish language—and with Saturday being the actual day of rest in the Jewish community—Ladino directly adapted the Hebrew name, Shabbat.[25]

See also [ edit ]

Notes [ edit ]

Sunday [ edit ]

☉1 From Latin Dominicus (Dominica) or Greek Κυριακή (Christian Sabbath)

☉2 Holy Day and First-Day of the Week (Day of the Sun -> Light -> Resurrection -> Born again) (Christianity)

☉3 Resurrection (Christianity)

☉4 Bazaar Day

☉5 Market Day

☉6 No Work

☉7 Full good day

☉8 Borrowed from English week

☉9 From an Old Burmese word, not of Indic origin.

Monday [ edit ]

☽1 After No Work. In Russian also "Day After Week(end)" - see понедельник

☽2 After Bazaar

☽3 Head of Week

☽4 Master (as in Pir, because Muhammad was born on a Monday[citation needed])

☽5 From an Old Burmese word, not of Indic origin.

Tuesday [ edit ]

♂1 Thing (Assembly), of which god Tyr/Ziu was the patron.

♂2 Second day of the week (cf. Hungarian kettő "two")

♂3 Third day of the week.

♂4 From Arabic "ath-Thalaathaaʼ" (third day)

Wednesday [ edit ]

☿1 Mid-week or Middle

☿2 The First Fast (Christianity)

Thursday [ edit ]

♃1 The day between two fasts (An Dé idir dhá aoin, contracted to An Déardaoin) (Christianity)

♃2 Five (Arabic)

♃3 Fifth day of the week.

♃4 Fourth day of the week.

Friday [ edit ]

♀1 The Fast (Celtic) or Fasting Day (Icelandic) (Christianity)

♀2 Good Friday or Preparation (Christianity)

♀3 Jumu'ah (Muslim Sabbath)

♀4 Gathering/Assembly/Meeting (Islam) – in Malta with no Islamic connotations

♀5 Fifth day of the week

Saturday [ edit ]

♄1 Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath)

♄2 Wash or Bath day

♄3 Sun-eve (Eve of Sunday)

♄4 After the Gathering (Islam)

♄5 End of the Week (Arabic Sabt = Rest)

♄6 Week

♄7 Half good day

References [ edit ]