How did the days of the week get their names? Are the meanings in England the same as the meanings in France, Thailand and Korea or anywhere in the world?
2006-12-20 05:40:32 · 17 answers · asked by Stanleymonkey 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
Latin Old English English German French Italian Spanish
Dies Solis Sunnandaeg Sunday Sonntag dimanche domenica domingo
Dies Lunae Monandaeg Monday Montag lundi lunedì lunes
Dies Martis Tiwesdaeg Tuesday Dienstag mardi martedì martes
Dies Mercurii Wodnesdaeg Wednesday Mittwoch mercredi mercoledì miércoles
Dies Jovis Thunresdaeg Thursday Donnerstag jeudi giovedì jueves
Dies Veneris Frigedaeg Friday Freitag vendredi venerdì viernes
Dies Saturni Saeternesdaeg Saturday Samstag samedi sabato sábado
Sunday:
Legend tells that long ago, certain tribes of people in southern Europe could not explain the warm ball of light that appeared in the sky each day. They decided it was given to them by a great god and named the ball of light sol (Latin). To praise this god they named a day of the week after the ball of light. They named the day dies solis, Latin for "day of the sun."
Later the people who dwelled in northern Europe also decided to honor this ball of light. In their non-Latin language, the day was called, sunnandaeg, meaning "day of the sun." Many years passed and sunnandaeg became known as Sunday in English.
Monday:
The southern European nation called the glowing ball of light in the night sky by the Latin name, lunae dies, and the northern Europeans called it mona. They named a day monan daeg which means Monday in English.
Tuesday:
Some of the Europeans believed in Tiw, god of war. His name was spelled several different ways. They believed that the god Tiw guided warriors who worshipped him. The god Tiw lived on a high mountain and whenever a warrior died in battle Tiw would come down to Earth with a group of beautiful women and take the dead warrior to paradise. To honor Tiw, the people named a day of the week after him. They named the day Tiwesdaeg, meaning Tuesday in English.
Wednesday:
Certain clans of people who used to live in northern Europe believed in many gods and goddesses, especially the Vikings. But these ancient people believed that one god held power over all the rest and his name was Woden. Legend tells that Woden wanted more than anything to be wise, so he traveled the world in a quest for wisdom. In order to receive wisdom and knowledge he was required to give one of his eyes.
After doing so, he wore a large hat with a floppy brim to cover his missing eye. As Woden traveled he carried two blackbirds perched upon his shoulders. They acted as his spies and at night they flew down to Earth to gather information on the people, reporting back to their master each morning. Woden always knew all the happenings on the Earth and many things had to be done in secret for fear of Woden's disapproval. To honor Woden, the people named a day of the week after him. They named this day Wodnesdaeg, meaning Wednesday in English.
Thursday:
When the people of northern Europe couldn't understand what thunder and lightning was they decided the flashing light and loud rumbling must be caused by an angry god. But this god needed a name so they named him, Thor. He was one god you didn't want to make mad.
If the thunder was fierce, they claimed Thor was angry and throwing his large hammer across the sky. This caused lightning to dance in a fit of rage. While Thor was throwing his temper tantrum across the sky, he rode in a wagon or chariot pulled by two goats. The wheels made such a sound that it caused the thunder to roar. The people honored Thor by giving him his own day, Thuresdaeg meaning Thursday in English.
Friday:
Frigg was a kind and beautiful goddess who was married to Odin, the most powerful god. Frigg sat on her throne next to her beloved Odin and together they watched the happenings all over the world. Frigg was goddess of nature, controlling everything from the tinniest hamlet to the largest jungle. Frigg worked two jobs for she was also the goddess of love and marriage. The people loved her so much they named a day after her, calling it Frigedaeg, which became Friday.
Saturday:
Long ago in the days of the great Roman Empire, a god named Saturn ruled over the farmlands. According to the people, Saturn had control over the weather and could make it good if he was happy or make it bad if he was angry. Saturn decided how much rainfall each village would get. If they were not pleasing to him perhaps they would get none.
Before planting time, a Roman farmer would ask Saturn to give him good weather for his crops. They believed they must sacrifice an animal in order to please Saturn. If the god accepted, he would then make the weather nice for the farmers. In order to score extra points with Saturn the people named a planet after him along with a day of the week. They called this day "Saturni dies," Latin for "day of Saturn." In English it became known as Saturday.
2006-12-20 05:47:55 · answer #1 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
England = yes (and other places where they speak English, or some variety thereof).....
Sunday was named for the Sun, because for most ancient religions or cultures, the Sun was the most important 'thing' in the world.
Monday was originally Moon-day, because after the Sun, the Moon was the most important 'thing' in the world.
With Tuesday we veer toward the Germanic countries and/or the Vikings...Tiwe or Tue was a version or the name of the God of Law, Tyr. So it might be thought of as Tyr's Day.
Wend's Day was originally Odin's Day or Wodan's Day until Wend the smith God stole it...everyone pronounces it "Wend's Day" regardless of how it is spelled.
Thursday was Thor's day (unless it was Giant's day, because the Norse/ Germanic for Giant is 'thurs', Hmmmmmmm).
Friday may have Frigga's Day (wife of Odin), or it may have been Freya's day (The Norse Aphrodite or Venus), or it may even have been Frey's Day (Freya's brother, the God of elves and war, as well as the king of the Vanir....but we don't really want to get into that right now).
Saturday was actually Saturn's Day, a survival of the Roman days of the week, for whom Saturn was their equivalent of Chronos, the God of time (hey, how appropo!), and father of Jupiter (Zeus), king of the Gods.
2006-12-20 15:33:23 · answer #2 · answered by raxivar 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, that is an interesting question. Now you'll hear alot of talk about how the Norse named Friday after Freya, and Monday is named after "Lunday", etc.
But the reality of it is that waaaaaaaaaaay back when, there were 2 cavemen. One's name was Cronk and the other Billy. Well Cronk got sick of Billy asking him (by pointing at the sky and the ground....he couldn't point at his wrist because watches weren't invented just yet)....trying to find out what time it was and day also. This was especially annoying when they were Wooly Mammoth hunting and hung around each other for 10 days at a stretch.
So Cronk made funny sounds (Munh....Tuuuu....Weggg...Thuuur),
which helped Billy formulate what day it was. Of course it did take quite awhile, since Billy's brain was roughly the size of a walnut.
2006-12-20 05:56:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The names come from various mythological gods from a variety of cultures - for example, Saturday is Saturn's day; Thursday is Thor's day, etc.
Check it out.
2006-12-20 06:00:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They came from the Vikings and their gods. Thor's day... Thursday, Wodin's Day... Wednesday, Freya's day... Friday. Not sure about Tuesday. Oh, and one came from Roman Mythology. Saturn's day... Saturday. You can guess about SUNday.
2006-12-20 05:47:41 · answer #5 · answered by Evevumeimei 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I also believe the days of the week are named after planets and star alignments.-
2006-12-20 05:51:41 · answer #6 · answered by LatinSpice 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The days of the week are lattan words.
The meanings are the same but the words are different. If you point to a day on a calander they will give you their word for that day. Same meaning different word.
2006-12-20 06:06:10 · answer #7 · answered by cajohnson667 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They get their names from gods of different cultures, e.g:
Saturday comes from Saturn
Wednesday comes from Woden
Thursday comes from Thor.
They are a mix of mainly Roman and Nordic.
2006-12-20 05:50:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not unsuprisingly from the cultures of our last 2 conquerors
and I imagine its the same for the other countries.....
2006-12-20 06:14:46 · answer #9 · answered by farshadowman 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They come from Greek, Roman & Norse
Examples = . . .
wednesday = wodan
thursday = thor
friday = freya
2006-12-20 05:47:34 · answer #10 · answered by fireopal1392 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Remnants of the Anglo-Saxon and Norse gods remain in the English language names for days of the week, as (more or less) calques of the Roman names:
Monday: The name Monday comes from the Old English Mōnandæg, meaning "day of the Moon"; it is a translation of the Latin name dies Lunae (cf. Romance language versions of the name, e.g., French lundi)
Tuesday: Tuesday comes from the Old English Tiwesdæg, meaning "Tyr's day." Tyr (in Old English, Tiw, Tew or Tiu) was the Nordic god of single combat and heroic glory in Norse mythology. The name is based on Latin dies Martis, "Day of Mars" (the Roman war god); compare French mardi.
Wednesday: This name comes from the Old English Wodnesdæg meaning the day of the Germanic god Woden, more commonly known as Odin, who was the highest god in Norse mythology, and a prominent god of the Anglo-Saxons (and other places) in England until about the seventh century. It is based on Latin dies Mercurii, "Day of Mercury"; compare French mercredi. The connection between Mercury and Odin is more strained than the other syncretic connections. The usual explanation is that both Odin and Mercury were considered psychopomps, or leaders of souls, in their respective mythologies. However, in Old Norse myth, Odin, like Mercury, is associated with poetic and musical inspiration.
Thursday: The name Thursday comes from the Old English Þunresdæg, meaning the day of Þunor, commonly known in Modern English as Thor, the Germanic and Norse god of thunder. It is based on the Latin dies Iovis, "Day of Jupiter"; compare French jeudi. In the Roman pantheon, Jupiter was the chief god, who seized and maintained his power on the basis of his thunderbolt (fulmen).
Friday: The name Friday comes from the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige, the Germanic goddess of beauty, who is a later incarnation of the Norse goddess Frigg, but also connected to the Goddess Freyja. It is based on the Latin dies Veneris, "Day of Venus"; compare French vendredi. Venus was the Roman god of beauty, love, and sex.
Saturday: Saturday is the only day of the week to retain its Roman origin in English, named after the Roman god Saturn associated with the Titan Cronos, father of Zeus and many Olympians. In Latin it was dies Saturni, "Day of Saturn"; compare French samedi, which comes from sambata dies (day of the Sabbath).
Sunday: The name Sunday comes from the Old English sunnandæg, meaning the day of the Sun; it is a translation of the Latin phrase dies solis. English, like most of the Germanic languages and several of the Celtic languages, preserves the original pagan/sun associations of the day; many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed the name of the day to the equivalent of "the Lord's day" (based on Ecclesiastical Latin dies Dominica).
2006-12-20 05:44:49 · answer #11 · answered by Polo 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋