Sunday
The English name
Sunday
and the German name
Sonntag
are derived from the Latin
dies Solis,
"sun's day." It is also called the Lord's day (Latin
Domenica).
It is from this that the French
Dimanche,
and the Italian
Domenica
are derived.
Monday
Derived from the Anglo-Saxon word
monandaeg
which means "the moon's day." In German the day is called
Montag,
in French
Lundi,
and in Italian
Lunedi,
all references to the moon.
Tuesday
The English version is named after the Norse god of war, Tiu, or Tyr. The
Romans named it after their god of war, Mars. Thus in Italian the day is called
Martedi,
and in French
Mardi,
In German, it is called
Dienstag
meaning "assembly day."
Wednesday
In English, named for Odin or Wodin, chief god of Norse mythology. The Romans
named it for their messenger of the gods, Mercury (Latin -
dies Mercuri).
Thus the Italian name is
Mercoledi
and in French it is
Mercredi,
In German it is called
Mittwoch,
meaning mid-week.
Thursday
Named for Thor, Norse god of thunder. In Latin, the day was called
dies Jovis
meaning "Jove's day" for Jove or Jupiter, the god of thunder and rain. In
Italian, the day is called
Giovedi
and in French
Jeudi.
In German it is
Donnerstag,
"thunder day."
Friday
Named for Frigga, the Norse goddess of the sky. In German it is called
Freitag,
The Romans named it after their goddess of love, Venus. In Italian, the day
is called
Venerdi,
and in French
Vendredi.
Saturday
Given the name in honour of the Roman god of agriculture, Saturn. In Hebrew,
the day is called Sabbath. From this the Italian
Sabato,
is derived. In French it is called
Samedi
and in German
Samstag,
names which are also believed to be derived from Sabbath.
