Names of the days of the week
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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 in 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
Greco-Roman tradition
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 the 6th 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).
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:
Day: (see Irregularities) |
Sunday Sōl or Helios (Sun) |
Monday Luna or Selene (Moon) |
Tuesday Mars or Ares (Mars) |
Wednesday Mercurius or Hermes (Mercury) |
Thursday Iuppiter or Zeus (Jupiter) |
Friday Venus or Aphrodite (Venus) |
Saturday Saturnus or Kronos (Saturn) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greek | ἡμέρᾱ Ἡλίου hēmérā Hēlíou |
ἡμέρᾱ Σελήνης hēmérā Selḗnēs |
ἡμέρᾱ Ἄρεως hēmérā Áreōs |
ἡμέρᾱ Ἑρμοῦ hēmérā Hermoû |
ἡμέρᾱ Διός hēmérā Diós |
ἡμέρᾱ Ἀφροδῑ́της hēmérā Aphrodī́tēs |
ἡμέρᾱ Κρόνου hēmérā Krónou |
Latin | diēs Sōlis | diēs Lūnae | diēs Martis | diēs Mercuriī | diēs Iōvis | diēs Veneris | diēs Saturnī |
Romance languages
Except for modern Portuguese, the Romance languages preserved the Latin names, except for the names of Sunday, which was replaced by [dies] Dominicus (Dominica), i.e. "Day of the Lord" and of Saturday, which was named for the Sabbath.
Celtic languages
Old Irish adopted the names from Latin, but introduced separate terms of uncertain origin for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Adoptions from Romance
Albanian adopted the Latin terms. 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.
Day: (see Irregularities) |
Sunday Sōl (Sun) |
Monday Luna (Moon) |
Tuesday Mars (Mars) |
Wednesday Mercurius (Mercury) |
Thursday Iuppiter (Jupiter) |
Friday Venus (Venus) |
Saturday Saturnus (Saturn) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albanian | E diel | E hënë | E martë | E mërkurë | E enjte | E premte | E shtunë |
Filipino | Linggò [☉1] Dominggo in most other Philippine languages |
Lunes | Martes | Miyerkules | Huwebes | Biyernes | Sábado [♄1] |
Interlingua | Dominica [☉1] | Lunedi | Martedi | Mercuridi | Jovedi | Venerdi | Sabbato [♄1] |
Ido | Sundio | Lundio | Mardio | Merkurdio | Jovdio | Venerdio | Saturdio |
Esperanto | dimanĉo [☉1] | lundo | mardo | merkredo | ĵaŭdo | vendredo | sabato [♄1] |
Germanic tradition
The Germanic peoples adapted the system introduced by the Romans by substituting the Norse/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.[11] 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]), meaning "sun's day." This is a translation of the Latin phrase dies Solis. English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the original pagan/sun associations of the day. 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 a goddess, Sunna/Sól.
- Monday: Old English Mōnandæg (pronounced [ˈmoːnɑndæj]), meaning "Moon's day." This is based on a translation of the Latin name dies lunae. In North Germanic mythology, the Moon is personified as a god, Máni.
- Tuesday: Old English Tīwesdæg (pronounced [ˈtiːwezdæj]), meaning "Tiw's day." 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 based on Latin dies Martis, "Day of Mars".
- Wednesday: Old English Wōdnesdæg (pronounced [ˈwoːdnezdæj]) meaning the day of the Germanic god Wodan (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 based on Latin dies Mercurii, "Day of Mercury." The connection between Mercury and Odin is more strained than the other syncretic connections. The usual explanation is that both Wodan and Mercury were considered psychopomps, or guides of souls after death, in their respective mythologies; both are also associated with poetic and musical inspiration. The Icelandic Miðviku, German Mittwoch, Low German Middeweek and Finnish keskiviikko all mean mid-week.
- Thursday: Old English Þūnresdæg (pronounced [ˈθuːnrezdæj]), meaning 'Þunor's day'. Þunor means 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".
- Friday: Old English Frīgedæg (pronounced [ˈfriːjedæj]), meaning the day of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Fríge. The Norse name for the planet Venus was Friggjarstjarna, 'Frigg's star'. It is based on the Latin dies Veneris, "Day of Venus."
- Saturday: the only day of the week to retain its Roman origin in English, 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]). In Latin it was 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.
Day: (see Irregularities) |
Sunday Sunna/Sól |
Monday Mona/Máni |
Tuesday Tiw/Tyr |
Wednesday Woden/Odin |
Thursday Thunor/Thor |
Friday Frige or Freya |
Saturday Saturn |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Proto-Germanic | *Sunnōniz dagaz | *Mēniniz dagaz | *Tīwas dagaz, *Þingsas dagaz | *Wōdanas dagaz | *Þunras dagaz | *Frijjōz dagaz | *Saturnas dagaz, *Laugōz dagaz |
Old English | Sunnandæg | Mōnandæg | Tīwesdæg | Wōdnesdæg | Þunresdæg | Frīgedæg | Sæternesdæg |
Old Saxon | Sunnundag | *Mānundag | *Tiuwesdag, *Thingesdag | Wōdanesdag | *Thunaresdag | Frīadag | *Sunnunāƀand, *Satarnesdag |
Old High German | Sunnûntag | Mânetag | Zîestag | Wuotanestag | Donarestag | Frîjatag | Sunnûnâband, Sambaztag [♄1] |
Middle Low German | Sunnedag | Manedag | Dingesdag | Wodenesdag | Donersdag | Vrīdag | Sunnenavend, Satersdag |
German | Sonntag | Montag | Dienstag [♂1], Ziestag (Alemannic German) | Mittwoch [☿1] (older Wutenstag) | Donnerstag | Freitag | Sonnabend [♄3], Samstag [♄1] |
Yiddish | Zuntik - זונטיק | Montik - מאנטיק | Dinstik - דינסטיק [♂1] | Mitvokh - מיטוואך [☿1] | Donershtik - דאנערשטיק | Fraytik - פרײַטיק | Shabbes - שבת [♄1] |
Scots | Saubath[♄1], Sunday | Monanday | Tysday | Wadensday | Fuirsday | Friday | Seturday |
Dutch | zondag | maandag | dinsdag [♂1] | woensdag | donderdag | vrijdag | zaterdag |
Afrikaans | Sondag | Maandag | Dinsdag [♂1] | Woensdag | Donderdag | Vrydag | Saterdag |
Luxembourgish | Sonndeg | Méindeg | Dënschdeg | Mëttwoch | Donneschdeg | Freideg | Samschdeg |
West Frisian | Snein | Moandei | Tiisdei | Woansdei | Tongersdei | Freed | Sneon[♄3], Saterdei |
Low Saxon | Sünndag | Maandag | Dingsdag | Middeweek, Goonsdag (rarely Woonsdag) | Dünnerdag | Freedag | Sünnavend, Saterdag |
Old Norse | sunnudagr | mánadagr | tysdagr | óðinsdagr | þórsdagr | frjádagr | laugardagr [♄2], sunnunótt |
Faroese | sunnudagur | mánadagur | týsdagur | mikudagur [☿1], ónsdagur (Suðuroy) | hósdagur/ tórsdagur (Suðuroy) |
fríggjadagur | leygardagur |
Icelandic | sunnudagur | mánudagur | þriðjudagur | miðvikudagur [☿1] | fimmtudagur | föstudagur | laugardagur |
Norwegian Nynorsk | sundag/søndag | måndag | tysdag | onsdag | torsdag | fredag | laurdag [♄2] |
Norwegian Bokmål | søndag | mandag | tirsdag | onsdag | torsdag | fredag | lørdag [♄2] |
Danish | søndag | mandag | tirsdag | onsdag | torsdag | fredag | lørdag [♄2] |
Swedish | söndag | måndag | tisdag | onsdag | torsdag | fredag | lördag [♄2] |
Adoptions from Germanic
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 |
South Asian tradition
The traditional Hindu mythologies and puranas do not mention the names of the days, and it was only the TITHI as per the Lunar calendar which was followed all over. 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.[12] 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. (Source?)
Sunday the Sun (Aditya, Ravi) |
Monday the Moon (Soma, Indu) |
Tuesday Mars (Mangala) |
Wednesday Mercury (Budha) |
Thursday Jupiter (Guru) |
Friday Venus (Shukra) |
Saturday Saturn (Shani) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hindi | रविवार Ravivār |
सोमवार Somavār |
मंगलवार Mangalavār |
बुधवार Budhavār |
गुरूवार Guruvār |
शुक्रवार Shukravār |
शनिवार Shanivār |
Nepali | आइतवार Aaitabar |
सोमवार Sombar |
मंगलवार Mangalbar |
बुधवार Budhabar |
बिहिवार Bihibar |
शुक्रवार Sukrabar |
शनिवार Sanibar |
Konkani | आयतार Āytār |
सोमार Somaar |
मंगळार Mangaḷār |
बुधवार Budhavār |
भीरेस्तार Bhirestār |
शुक्रार Shukrār |
शेनवार Shenvār |
Marathi | रविवार Ravivār |
सोमवार Somavār |
मंगळवार Mangaḷavār |
बुधवार Budhavār |
गुरूवार Guruvār |
शुक्रवार Shukravār | |
Bengali | রবিবার Robibar |
সোমবার Shombar |
মঙ্গলবার Monggolbar |
বুধবার Budhbar |
বৃহস্পতিবার Brihôshpotibar |
শুক্রবার Shukrobar |
শনিবার Shonibar |
Sylheti | রবিবার Robibar |
সোমবার Shombar |
মঙ্গলবার Mongolbar |
বুধবার Budhbar |
বিষুধবার Bishudhbar |
সুক্ষুরবার Shukkurbar |
শনিবার Shonibar |
Bhojpuri | एतवार Aitwār |
सोमार Somār |
मंगर Mangar |
बुध Budh |
बियफे Bi'phey |
सुक्क Sukk |
सनिच्चर Sanichchar |
Gujarati | રવિવાર Ravivār |
સોમવાર Somvār |
મંગળવાર Mangaḷvār |
બુધવાર Budhvār |
ગુરૂવાર Guruvār |
શુક્રવાર Shukravār |
શનિવાર Shanivār |
Punjabi (Gurmukhi) |
ਐਤਵਾਰ etvār |
ਸੋਮਵਾਰ sōmvār |
ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ mangalvār |
ਬੁੱਧਵਾਰ búdvār |
ਵੀਰਵਾਰ vīrvār |
ਸ਼ੁੱਕਰਵਾਰ shukkarvār |
ਸ਼ਨਿੱਚਰਵਾਰ shaniccharvār |
Maldivian | އާދީއްތަ Aadheettha |
ހޯމަ Homa |
އަންގާރަ Angaara |
ބުދަ Budha |
ބުރާސްފަތި Buraasfathi |
ހުކުރު Hukuru |
ހޮނިހިރު Honihiru |
Kannada | ಭಾನುವಾರ Bhanu Vaara |
ಸೋಮವಾರ Soma Vaara |
ಮಂಗಳವಾರ Mangala Vaara |
ಬುಧವಾರ Budha Vaara |
ಗುರುವಾರ Guru Vaara |
ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ Shukra Vaara |
ಶನಿವಾರ Shani Vaara |
Oriya | ଋବିବାର Ravivār |
ସୋମବାର Somavār |
ମଙ୍ଗଳବାର Mangalavār |
ବୁଧବାର Budhavār |
ଗୁରୁବାର Guruvār |
ଶୁକ୍ରବାର Shukravār |
ଶନିବାର Shanivār |
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 |
Malayalam | ഞായര് Nhāyar |
തിങ്കള് Tingal |
ചൊവ്വ Chovva |
ബുധന് Budhan |
വ്യാഴം Vyāzham |
വെള്ളി Velli |
ശനി Shani |
Burmese | တနင်္ဂနွေ[☉9] IPA: [tənɪ́ɴ ɡənwè] (ta.nangga.nwe) |
တနင်္လာ[☽5] IPA: [tənɪ́ɴ là] (ta.nangla) |
အင်္ဂါ IPA: [ɪ̀ɴ ɡà] (Angga) |
ဗုဒ္ဓဟူး IPA: [boʊʔ dəhú] (Buddhahu) (afternoon=new day) ရာဟု Rahu |
ကြာသာပတေး IPA: [tɕà ðà bədé] (Krasapate) |
သောကြာ IPA: [θaʊʔ tɕà] (Saukra) |
စနေ IPA: [sənè] (Cane) |
Mon | တ္ၚဲ အဒိုတ် [ŋoa ətɜ̀t] from Sans. āditya |
တ္ၚဲ စန် [ŋoa cɔn] from Sans. candra |
တ္ၚဲ အၚါ [ŋoa əŋɛ̀a] from Sans. aṅgāra |
တ္ၚဲ ဗုဒ္ဓဝါ [ŋoa pùt-həwɛ̀a] from Sans. budhavāra |
တ္ၚဲ ဗြဴဗ္တိ [ŋoa pɹɛ̀apətɔeʔ] from Sans. bṛhaspati |
တ္ၚဲ သိုက်. [ŋoa sak] from Sans. śukra |
တ္ၚဲ သ္ၚိ သဝ် [ŋoa hɔeʔ sɔ] from Sans. śani |
Khmer | ថ្ងៃអាទិត្យ [tŋaj ʔaːtɨt] |
ថ្ងៃចន្ទ [tŋaj can] |
ថ្ងៃអង្គារ [tŋaj ʔɑŋkiə] |
ថ្ងៃពុធ [tŋaj put] |
ថ្ងៃព្រហស្បត្ណិ [tŋaj prɔhoə̯h] |
ថ្ងៃសុក្រ [tŋaj sok] |
ថ្ងៃសៅរ៍ [tŋaj saʋ] |
Lao | ວັນອາທິດ [wán ʔàːtʰīt] |
ວັນຈັນ [wán càn] |
ວັນອັງຄານ [wán ʔàŋkʰáːn] |
ວັນພຸດ [wán pʰūt] |
ວັນພະຫັດ [wán pʰāhát] |
ວັນສຸກ [wán súk] |
ວັນເສົາ [wán sǎu] |
Shan | ဝၼ်းဢႃတိတ်ႉ IPA: [wan˦ ʔaː˩ tit˥] |
ဝၼ်းၸၼ် IPA: [wan˦ tsan˩] |
ဝၼ်းဢင်းၵၼ်း IPA: [wan˦ ʔaŋ˦ kan˦] |
ဝၼ်းၽုတ်ႉ IPA: [wan˦ pʰut˥] |
ဝၼ်းၽတ်း IPA: [wan˦ pʰat˦] |
ဝၼ်းသုၵ်း IPA: [wan˦ sʰuk˦] |
ဝၼ်းသဝ် IPA: [wan˦ sʰaw˩] |
Thai | วันอาทิตย์ Wan Āthit |
วันจันทร์ Wan Chan |
วันอังคาร Wan Angkhān |
วันพุธ Wan Phut |
วันพฤหัสบดี Wan Phruehatsabodi |
วันศุกร์ Wan Suk |
วันเสาร์ Wan Sao |
Mongolian | адъяа ad'yaa |
сумъяа sum'yaa |
ангараг angarag |
буд bud |
бархабадь barhabad' |
сугар sugar |
санчир sanchir |
Javanese | Raditya | Soma | Anggara | Buda | Respati | Sukra | Tumpek |
Balinese | Redite | Soma | Anggara | Buda | Wrespati | Sukra | Saniscara |
Sinhala | ඉරිදා Iridaa |
සඳුදා Sandudaa |
අඟහරුවාදා Angaharuwaadaa |
බදාදා Badaadaa |
බ්රහස්පතින්දා Brahaspathindaa |
සිකුරාදා Sikuraadaa |
සෙනසුරාදා Senasuraadaa |
Sanskrit | भानुवासरम् Bhaanuvaasaram |
इन्दुवासरम् Induvaasaram |
भौमवासरम् Bhaumavaasaram |
सौम्यवासरम् Saumyavaasaram |
गुरुवासरम् Guruvaasaram |
भृगुवासरम् Bhruguvaasaram |
स्थिरवासरम् Sthiravaasaram |
East Asian tradition
The East Asian naming system of 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).[13] The 4th-century date, according to the Cihai encyclopedia, 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 Yi Jing 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.
Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Celestial Object | Sun (日) First Star |
Moon (月) Second Star |
Mars (火) Third Star |
Mercury (水) Fourth Star |
Jupiter (木) Fifth Star |
Venus (金) Sixth Star |
Saturn (土) Seventh Star |
Classical Chinese | 日曜日 Rìyàorì |
月曜日 Yuèyàorì |
火曜日 Huǒyàorì |
水曜日 Shuǐyàorì |
木曜日 Mùyàorì |
金曜日 Jīnyàorì |
土曜日 Tǔyàorì |
Japanese | 日曜日 Nichiyōbi |
月曜日 Getsuyōbi |
火曜日 Kayōbi |
水曜日 Suiyōbi |
木曜日 Mokuyōbi |
金曜日 Kin'yōbi |
土曜日 Doyōbi |
Korean | 일요일 日曜日 Ilyoil |
월요일 月曜日 Wolyoil |
화요일 火曜日 Hwayoil |
수요일 水曜日 Suyoil |
목요일 木曜日 Mogyoil |
금요일 金曜日 Geumyoil |
토요일 土曜日 Toyoil |
Mongolian | наран өдөр naraŋ ödör | саран өдөр saraŋ ödör | гал өдөр gal ödör | усан өдөр usaŋ ödör | модон өдөр modoŋ ödör | төмөр өдөр, алтан өдөр tömör ödör, altaŋ ödör | шороон өдөр shorooŋ ödör |
Tibetan | གཟའ་ཉི་མ། (gza' nyi ma) Nyima |
གཟའ་ཟླ་བ། (gza' zla wa) Dawa |
གཟའ་མིག་དམར། (gza' mig dmar) Mikmar |
གཟའ་ལྷག་པ། (gza' lhak pa) Lhakpa |
གཟའ་ཕུར་བུ། (gza' phur bu) Purbu |
གཟའ་པ་སངས། (gza' pa sangs) Pasang |
གཟའ་སྤེན་པ། (gza' spen ba) Penba |
- Pronunciations for Classical Chinese names are given in Standard Chinese.
West Asian tradition
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Urdu | Itwār اتوار |
Pīr پیر [☽4] |
Mangal منگل |
Bodh بدھ |
Jumārāt جمعرات |
Jummah جمعہ[♀4] |
Heftah ہفتہ [♄6] |
Balti | Adeed |
Chamdral |
Angaru |
Boru |
Brespod |
Shugoru |
Shingsher |
Burushaski | Adit |
Chandoro |
Angaro |
Bodo |
Berayspat |
Shukuro |
Shemshayr |
Chitrali (Khowar) |
Yakshambey یک شمبے |
Doshambey دو شمبے[☽4] |
Seshambey سہ شمبے |
Charshambey چار شمبے |
Pachambey پچھمبے |
Adina آدینہ[♀3] |
Shambey شمبے |
Hindko | Atwaar |
Suwar |
Mungal |
Bud |
Jumiraat |
Jummah |
Khali |
Kashmiri | Āthvār اَتھ وار |
Çāņdėrvār ژندر وار |
Bomvār پم وار |
Bödvār برھ وار |
Brêsvār برس وار |
Jumāh جُمھ |
Baţėvār بٹ وار |
Pashto | Etwar اتوار |
Gul ګل |
Nehi نهه |
Shoro شورو |
Ziarat زيارت |
Jumma جمعه |
Khali خالي |
Punjabi (Shahmukhi) |
Aitwār اتوار |
Pīr پیر |
Mangal منگل |
Budh بدھ |
Jumāy-rāt جمعرات |
Jummah جمعہ |
Hafta ہفتہ |
Shina | Adit |
Tsunduro |
Ungaro |
Budo |
Brespat |
Shukur |
Shimsher |
Sindhi | Aacheru آچر |
Soomaru سومر |
Angaro انڱارو |
Arbau اربع |
Kameesa خميس |
Jum'o جمعو |
Chancher ڇنڇر |
Numbered days of the week
Days numbered from Sunday
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.[14]
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, although the planetary names generally are retained.
Day Number From One |
Sunday Day One |
Monday Day Two |
Tuesday Day Three |
Wednesday Day Four |
Thursday Day Five |
Friday Day Six |
Saturday Day Seven |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Icelandic | sunnudagur (Sun) | mánudagur (Moon) | þriðjudagur | miðvikudagur [☿1] | fimmtudagur | föstudagur [♀1] | laugardagur [♄2] |
Hebrew | יום ראשון yom rishon |
יום שני yom sheyni |
יום שלישי yom shlishi |
יום רביעי yom revi'i |
יום חמישי yom khamishi |
יום שישי yom shishi |
יום שבת yom Shabbat[♄1] |
Ecclesiastical Latin | Dominica [☉1] | feria secunda | feria tertia | feria quarta | feria quinta | feria sexta | sabbatum [♄1] |
Portuguese | domingo [☉1] | segunda-feira | terça-feira | quarta-feira | quinta-feira | sexta-feira | sábado [♄1] |
Galician | domingo [☉1] | segunda feira | terza feira terceira feira |
corta feira quarta feira |
quinta feira | sexta feira | sábado [♄1] |
Tetum | loron-domingu | loron-segunda | loron-tersa | loron-kuarta | loron-kinta | loron-sesta | loron-sábadu |
Greek | Κυριακή Kyriakí [☉1] |
Δευτέρα Deftéra |
Τρίτη Tríti |
Τετάρτη Tetárti |
Πέμπτη Pémpti |
Παρασκευή Paraskeví [♀2] |
Σάββατο Sávato [♄1] |
Georgian | კვირა k'vira | ორშაბათი oršabati | სამშაბათი samšabati | ოთხშაბათი otxšabati | ხუთშაბათი xutšabati | პარასკევი p'arask'evi | შაბათი šabati |
Armenian | Կիրակի Kiraki [☉1] |
Երկուշաբթի Yerkushabti |
Երեքշաբթի Yerekshabti |
Չորեքշաբթի Chorekshabti |
Հինգշաբթի Hingshabti |
Ուրբաթ Urbat |
Շաբաթ Shabat [♄1] |
Vietnamese | chủ nhật or chúa nhật [☉1] |
(ngày) thứ hai | (ngày) thứ ba | (ngày) thứ tư | (ngày) thứ năm | (ngày) thứ sáu | (ngày) thứ bảy |
Somali | Axad | Isniin | Talaado | Arbaco | Khamiis | Jimco | Sabti |
Amharic | እሑድ əhud |
ሰኞ säñño (Next) |
ማክሰኞ maksäñño |
ረቡዕ, ሮብ räbu, rob |
ሐሙስ hamus |
ዓርብ arb (Sunset) |
ቅዳሜ ḳədame (First) |
Arabic | يوم) الأحد) (yawm) al-aḥad |
يوم) الإثنين) (yawm) al-ithnayn |
يوم) الثُّلَاثاء) (yawm) ath-thalathā’ |
يوم) الأَرْبعاء) (yawm) al-’arbi‘ā’ |
يوم) الخَمِيس) (yawm) al-khamīs |
يوم) الجُمْعَة) (yawm) al-jum‘ah [♀4] |
يوم) السَّبْت) (yawm) as-sabt [♄5] |
Maltese | il-Ħadd | it-Tnejn | it-Tlieta | l-Erbgħa | il-Ħamis | il-Ġimgħa [♀4] | is-Sibt [♄5] |
Malay | Ahad | Isnin | Selasa | Rabu | Khamis | Jumaat [♀4] | Sabtu [♄5] |
Indonesian | Minggu [☉1] (Portuguese) Ahad |
Senin | Selasa | Rabu | Kamis | Jumat [♀4] | Sabtu [♄5] |
Javanese | Ngahad, Ngakad, Minggu[☉1] (Portuguese) |
Senèn | Selasa | Rebo | Kemis | Jemuwah [♀4] | Setu [♄5] |
Sundanese | Minggu / Minggon [☉1] (Portuguese) | Senén | Salasa | Rebo | Kemis | Jumaah [♀4] | Saptu [♄5] |
Persian | یکشنبه yekšanbe Mehr ruz مهرروز |
دوشنبه došanbe Māh ruz ماه روز |
سه شنبه sešanbe Bahrām ruz بهرام روز |
چهارشنبه čāhāršanbe Tir ruz تیر روز |
پنجشنبه panjšanbe Hormazd ruz هرمزد روز |
آدینه or جمعه ādine [♀3] or djome [♀4] Nāhid ruz ناهید روز |
شنبه šanbe Keyvān ruz کیوان روز |
Khowar | یک شمبے yak shambey |
دو شمبے[☽4] du shambey |
سہ شمبے sey shambey |
چار شمبے char shambey |
پچھمبے pachhambey |
آدینہ[♀3] adina |
شمبے shambey |
Kurdish | Yekşem | Duşem | Sêşem | Çarşem | Pêncşem | În | Şemî |
Old Turkic | birinç kün | ikinç kün | üçünç kün | törtinç kün | beşinç kün | altınç kün | yetinç kün |
Turkish | Pazar [☉4] | Pazartesi [☽2] | Salı [♂4] | Çarşamba [☿4] | Perşembe [♃4] | Cuma [♀4] | Cumartesi [♄4] |
Uzbek | Yakshanba | Dushanba | Seshanba | Chorshanba | Payshanba | Juma | Shanba |
Navajo | Damóo/Damíigo [☉1] (Spanish) | Damóo Biiskání Sunday has ended |
Damóo dóó Naakiską́o Sunday +2 × sunrise |
Damóo dóó Tááʼ Yiką́o Sunday +3 × sunrise |
Damóo dóó Dį́į́ʼ Yiką́o Sunday +4 × sunrise |
Ndaʼiiníísh It ends/done for the week |
Yiką́o Damóo [upon] sunrise [it is] Sunday |
Days numbered from Monday
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".[15] This convention is also found in some Austronesian languages whose speakers were converted to Christianity by European missionaries.[16]
In Slavic languages, some of the names correspond to numerals: compare Russian vtornik "Tuesday" and vtoroj "the second", chetverg "Thursday" and chetvertyj "the forth", pyatnitsa "Friday" and pyatyj "the fifth"; see also the Notes.
Days numbered from Saturday
In Swahili the day begins at sunrise rather than sunset, and so offset by twelve hours from the Arabic and Hebrew calendar. 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[18] | jumamosi | jumapili | jumatatu | jumanne | jumatano | alhamisi [♃2] | ijumaa [♀4] |
Mixing of numbering and astronomy
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.[19]
Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Chinese | 星期一 Xīngqīyī |
星期二 Xīngqí'èr |
星期三 Xīngqīsān |
星期四 Xīngqīsì |
星期五 Xīngqīwǔ |
星期六 Xīngqīliù |
星期日 Xīngqīrì |
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.[20]
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.[21]
Day: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Basque, Guipuscoan Basque | astelehena ("week-first") | asteartea ("week-between") | asteazkena ("week-last") | osteguna ("Ortzi/Sky day") | ostirala (see Ortzi) | larunbata ("fourth", "meeting of friends"), neskenegun ("girls' day") | igandea |
Biscayne Basque | astelena ("week-first"), ilen ("Moon day") | martitzena ("Mars day") | eguaztena ("day last") | eguena ("day of days", "day of light") | barikua ("day without supper"), egubakotx | zapatua (compare with Spanish sábado from Sabbath) | domeka (from Latin Dominica [dies]) |
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. Like 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.[22]
Day | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino) | Alhadh | Lunes | Martes | Miércoles | Juğeves | Viernes | Shabat [♄1] |
See also
![](../I/m/Weekwheel.jpg)
- Akan names of the seven-day week, known as Nawotwe
- Bahá'í calendar (section Weekdays)
- Calculating the day of the week
- Week
- Work Week
Notes
Sunday
☉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
☽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 )
☽5 From an Old Burmese word, not of Indic origin.
Tuesday
♂1 Thing (Assembly), of which god Tyr/Ziu was the patron.
♂2 Second day of the week (cf. Hungarian kettő "two")
♂4 From Arabic "ath-Thalaathaaʼ" (third day)
Wednesday
☿1 Mid-week or Middle
☿2 The First Fast (Christianity)
Thursday
♃1 The day between two fasts (An Dé idir dhá aoin, contracted to An Déardaoin) (Christianity)
♃2 Five (Arabic)
Friday
♀1 The Fast (Celtic) or Fasting Day (Icelandic) (Christianity)
♀2
Good Friday or Preparation (Christianity)
♀3 Day of Faith (Islam)
♀4 Gathering/Assembly/Meeting (Islam) – in Malta with no Islamic connotations
Saturday
♄1 Shabbat or seventh-day Sabbath (Judeo–Christian)
♄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
Further reading
- Brown, Cecil H. (1989). "Naming the days of the week: A cross-language study of lexical acculturation". Current Anthropology. 30 (4): 536–550. doi:10.1086/203782. JSTOR 2743391.
- Falk, Michael (1999). "Astronomical Names for the Days of the Week". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 93: 122–133. Bibcode:1999JRASC..93..122F. doi:10.1016/j.newast.2003.07.002.
- Neugebauer, Otto (1979). Ethiopic astronomy and computus, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, philosophisch-historische klasse, sitzungsberichte, 347 (Vienna)
External links
- Days of the Week in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese (much history of Western systems too)
- Day of week in month calendar
- Planetary Linguistics and the Days of the Week — The Definitive Site
- Days of the week and months of the year in many different languages
- The Days of the Week
- The days of the week in various languages
- RSS feed to show names of days in Indian languages
- Days of the week in Spanish
References
- ↑ Nerone Caesare Augusto Cosso Lentuol Cossil fil. Cos. VIII idus Febr(u)arius dies solis, luna XIIIIX nun(dinae) Cumis, V (idus Februarias) nun(dinae) Pompeis. Robert Hannah, "Time in Written Spaces", in: Peter Keegan, Gareth Sears, Ray Laurence (eds.), Written Space in the Latin West, 200 BC to AD 300, A&C Black, 2013, p. 89.
- ↑ E. G. Richards, Mapping Time, the Calendar and History, Oxford 1999. p. 269 (The treatise is lost, but the answer to the question is known, see planetary hours).
- ↑ replacing a system of n "one-, three-, five-, ten-, or fifteen-day periods" (>Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 7). MS. 17 (now held at St. John's College, Oxford), dating at least from 1043, records five week-day lists, which it names as follows: secundum Hebreos (according to the Hebrews); secundum antiquos gentiles (according to the ancient gentiles, i.e., Romans); secundum Siluestrum papam (according to Pope Sylvester I, i.e., a list derived from the apocryphal Acta Syluestri); secundum Anglos (according to the English); secundum Scottos (according to the Irish).
- ↑ "we have a clear reflex of the Indo-European nominative singular, with a lengthened grade, giving archaic Old Irish diu; it is suggested that what we have in the Oxford list and in Cormac's Glossary is the oldest form of Old Irish dia, representing the old nominative case of the noun in adverbial usage." Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 12
- ↑ The word scrol is glossed in Sanas Cormaic as Scroll .i. soillsi, unde est aput Scottos diu srol.i. dies solis "Srcoll, that is brightness, whence 'diu srol' among the Irish, that is Sunday".
- ↑ Ó Cróinín has Diu luna as "represent[ing] the transitional form between Latin dies lunae and the later, Classical Old Irish dia luain ... a translation of, not a calque on, the Latin ... [It] would seem to reflect a pre-assimilation state in respect of both words," Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 13
- ↑ "The Irish word perhaps derives from Latin forms where cases other than the genitive were used, e.g., Marte."Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 15
- ↑ A form unique to Irish, meaning uncertain. A "very old" word for Wednesday, Mercúir (borrowed from the Latin (dies) Mercurii), does occur in early Leinster poems but Ó Cróinín is of the belief that Diu eathamon "reflects a still older Irish word for 'Wednesday.'"
- ↑ A form unique to Irish. Ó Cróinín writes, "I suggest that it means simply 'on Thursday' ... it is temporal dat. of an n-stem (nom. sg. etham, gen. sg. ethamon - as in our Oxford list - and acc./dat. sg. ethamain)." (2003, p. 17) He furthermore suggests that etham ('arable land') "may be a noun of agency from ith (gen. sg. etho), with a meaning like corn-maker or some such thing; Diu eathamon might then be a day for sowing seed in a weekly regimen of activities such as we find in Críth Gablach." Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 17. The form Ethomuin is found in Rawlinson B 502.
- ↑ A form unique to Irish, its meaning unclear.
- ↑ see J. Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, p. 122-123
- ↑ Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), s.v. vāra.
- ↑ The Chinese encyclopaedia Cihai (辞海) under the entry for "seven luminaries calendar" (七曜历/七曜曆, qī yào lì) has: "method of recording days according to the seven luminaries [七曜 qī yào]. China normally observes the following order: Sun, Mon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Seven days make one week, which is repeated in a cycle. Originated in ancient Babylon (or ancient Egypt according to one theory). Used by the Romans at the time of the 1st century AD, later transmitted to other countries. This method existed in China in the 4th century. It was also transmitted to China by Manichaeans in the 8th century from the country of Kang (康) in Central Asia." (translation after Bathrobe's Days of the Week in Chinese, Japanese & Vietnamese, plus Mongolian and Buryat (cjvlang.com)
- ↑ Richard A. Fletcher (1999). The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity. University of California Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-520-21859-8. McKenna, Stephen (1938). "Pagan Survivals in Galicia in the Sixth Century". Paganism and Pagan Survivals in Spain Up to the Fall of the Visigothic Kingdom. Catholic University of America. pp. 93–94. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ↑ Falk, Michael (19 March 1999). "Astronomical names for the days of the week". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 93 (1999–06): 122–133. Bibcode:1999JRASC..93..122F. doi:10.1016/j.newast.2003.07.002.
- ↑ Gray, 2012. The Languages of Pentecost Island.
- ↑ Ren is "day". Numbered weekdays are used for Tuesday-Friday and sometimes Monday; the names for Saturday and Sunday come from English.
- ↑ Swahili days, months, dates
- ↑ "Days of the Week in Chinese: Three Different Words for 'Week'". Cjvlang. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ↑ Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Astronomy and Basque Language, Henrike Knörr, Oxford VI and SEAC 99 "Astronomy and Cultural Diversity", La Laguna, June 1999. It references Alessandro Bausani, 1982, The prehistoric Basque week of three days: archaeoastronomical notes, The Bulletin of the Center for Archaeoastronomy (Maryland), v. 2, 16-22.
- ↑ See the image in Anthony, Charlotte. "Rushing to preserve Ladino legacies". Crescent City Jewish News. Retrieved 31 May 2016. The Ladino names are in the right-hand column, written in Hebrew characters.