Every student is familiar with the names of the days of the week, but not everyone thinks about how they arose. Of course, some little why's are persistent in asking their parents and bombarding them with questions like "Why is Wednesday called Wednesday." The task of adults is not only to provide children with complete information on this issue. It is advisable to present it in an interesting and informative form, since studying the topic of the days of the week allows you not only to delve into linguistics, but also to give interested listeners the basics of knowledge in astronomy, history and mythology.
Names of the third day of the week in Slavic languages
In the formation of words denoting the days of the week, in the Slavic languages, preference was given to their numerical order. Thus, it is not difficult to understand why the environment is called the environment. is the middle of the week. In Ancient Rus', another designation of the environment was common - the third.
Similarly, they call the middle day of the week in other modern Slavic languages: “serada” in Belarusian, “sereda” in Ukrainian, středa in Czech, srijeda in Croatian.
Day of the week Wednesday in some foreign languages
In today's world, children learn foreign languages from kindergarten, and most of them easily memorize the days of the week in different languages. It is very important to draw parallels between the names of the days of the week in the native and studied languages. This will help to form a holistic picture of the world in a child, develop his ability to generalize information and highlight common patterns in different linguistic phenomena.
For example, in German the third day of the week was named according to the same principle as in Russian. Mittwoch comes from two words: die Mitte, meaning "middle", and die Woche, "week". In the Finnish word keskeviikko, the name of the day also symbolizes the middle of the week. Of course, having caught this correspondence in their native and studied languages, children will more easily remember the educational material and successfully learn all the names of the days of the week.
In order to firmly remember the names of the days of the week in English and French, you will need to turn to astronomy, history and mythology.
Wednesday - Wednesday in English. The day of the week and, in particular, its translation is easy to remember if you know that the word comes from the name of the supreme ancient German god Odin, also called Wotan. The image of a traveler, a sage, a connoisseur of secret runic symbols and tales is attributed to him.
When the word "Wednesday" in English (the third day of the week) is learned, it will not be difficult to remember it also in the languages of the Scandinavian group, since they refer to the same god Odin. For example, in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish, "Wednesday" sounds like Onsdag, in Dutch - Woensdag.
What the day of the week Wednesday means will become clear after reading its foreign equivalents in modern languages that have a Latin root. We know that Wednesday is mercredi in French, miércoles in Spanish, and mercoledì in Italian. In Latin, Wednesday literally means the day of Mercury (dies Mercurĭi), who in ancient times was one of the most famous Roman gods.
Gods, planets, days of the week...
So, it was not difficult to figure out why the environment is called environment in Slavic and some European languages. But still it is not clear why the name of the third day of the week in many European languages is based on the designation of the planet of the solar system and the name of the god Wotan.
The fact is that representatives of ancient civilizations believed that every day is controlled by a certain planet. Each planet corresponded to God, embodied his principle and influenced people's lives especially strongly on the corresponding day of the week. Thus, the ancient Roman god Mercury, the ancient Greek god Hermes and the Scandinavian god Wotan represent one and the same cosmic and natural force.
Mythology and astrology
For the Romans, Mercury is the winged messenger of the gods, who was allowed to wander between the underworld and the gods seated on Olympus. He served as a mediator and conciliator, brought news, crossed the borders that separate people on earth and gods in the sky. The appearance of Mercury symbolized change and the beginning of a new life period.
Since Mercury is the smallest and fastest planet in the solar system, its planetary principle implies a good reaction, a high speed of thought processes, and excellent communication skills. Mercury patronizes learning, gaining knowledge, trade, mediation and medical practice.
Wednesday is the day of Mercury
So, according to the testimony of ancient astrologers, the environment is under the control of Mercury. What is good to do on this day? On Wednesday, people's ability to understand, reflect and exchange thoughts improves. Therefore, on this day, any communication, the conclusion of contracts and agreements is good, travel, study and making contacts with new people are easy.
After it was possible to find out why the environment is called the environment and what meaning this day of the week carries, everyone can have an idea about the commonality and a single source of knowledge available in the cultures and linguistic heritage of different peoples. Only by combining disparate facts into a single integrated system, it is possible to fully explain to the child the essence of individual linguistic phenomena and, in addition, expand the horizons of one's own perception of the world.
How often do we hear and pronounce these words ourselves: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday! It seems that life is simply impossible without the names of the days of the week. But really, how would we navigate in time space if we didn’t have these very names?! In other matters, they would definitely call it something - convenience
above all, it was valued in ancient times, though a little less than now. Has anyone thought about the origin of the names of the days of the week, why Monday was called Monday, and why Saturday was called Saturday ?! Of course, you can endlessly think about the origin of absolutely any word, but the days of the week are the days of the week, a special category, so to speak :) Let's take a look at the reasons why each day of the week got this or that name.
Why is Monday called Monday?
It turns out that in all European languages, Monday, as a day of the week, has long been considered the day of the moon, i.e. The moon is the patroness of Monday. This is still evidenced by its equivalents in foreign languages:
Note that everywhere there is a mention of the Earth's satellite. In our Slavic language, Monday is not called some kind of "lunar", only because our ancestors did not connect the Moon and Monday in any way. They simply dated it to the first day or called the day "after the week", because. Sunday used to be called only "week". Later, as always happens, there was a simplification and reduction - the current name was formed from the phrase "after a week" Monday.
Why is Tuesday called Tuesday?
Tuesday. It seems that everything is clear and logical - the "second day" of the week, therefore, they called Tuesday. But this was the case in the Slavic languages, all European names indicate that the history of various peoples answers the question of why Tuesday was called Tuesday in a different way.
Do you notice a pattern? All names mention the planet Mars! Even those names of the second day of the week that do not have a direct mention of the above planet in their composition (English Tuesday, for example), refer to God Tiu - a complete analogue of Mars.
Why is the environment called the environment?
Wednesday is closely connected with the planet Mercury and God of the same name.
By the way, Mercury was the patron god of written and oral speech, which makes him related to the god Woden (Wednesday in English Wodensday), who at one time invented the runic alphabet.
The Slavs, on the question of why Wednesday was called Wednesday, the answer is nowhere simpler - the middle of the week has come! In Old Russian Wednesday still had the name "third party", it is also quite clear why.
Why is Thursday called Thursday?
Next in line is Thursday and another planet, this time Jupiter. Thursday (English), or God Thor - an analogue of Jupiter.
Slavic ancestors distinguished themselves again - the "fourth day" of the week, why not call it Thursday Thursday?! Iron logic:)
Why is Friday called Friday?
Friday, I think you have already guessed that this day of the week in European languages \u200b\u200bhas its own patron planet, this time Venus.
Ancient Russian history and the question of why Friday is called Friday answers without hesitation - it's the "fifth" day in a row ... But it's hard to argue with this statement! :)
Why is Saturday called Saturday?
Saturday and... the planet Saturn. English and Latin ancestors are not changeable:
But other nationalities, including the Slavs, interpret (translate) the name of the sixth day as "peace and rest", and in some languages it is also literally "the day of ablution". Yes, we love to take a steam bath on Saturdays. Such an answer to the question of why Saturday was called Saturday we are completely satisfied - finally not connected with numbers! :)
Why is Sunday called Sunday?
The last, seventh day and again no numbers or planets. Latin, English, German, and many other languages dedicate this day to the Sun - "Sun", "Son". In our country, the origin of the name of the seventh day of the week is associated with religious events - the resurrection of Jesus Christ fell on this day. As already mentioned, Sunday was once called "week" in the Slavic languages, i.e. "do not do" - after all, the day off! Many other Slavic languages still retain this meaning: Bulgarians say Nedelya, Ukrainians Nedilya, Czechs Nedele. That is why Sunday is called Sunday.
The week itself was referred to as " Week", in some places this name has been preserved to this day.
Incredible Facts
It is customary for us that the week starts on Monday, but in some countries Week starts on Sunday.
Also there are some inconsistencies in names- for example, why is Wednesday (i.e. the "average day of the week") actually the third and not the fourth?
To answer these and other questions regarding the days of the week, you need to start with the question, why are there 7 days in a week and why is it called a week.
Why are there 7 days in a week
For a modern person, a seven-day week is a common thing. But where did these seven days in a week come from?
According to historians, in the history of mankind, the week did not always have seven days. There were options 3 days, 5 days, 8 days("eight days" in Ancient Rome) of the week, as well as the ancient 9 day cycle the Celts and orientation for 14 nights, which was present among the ancient Germans.
It will be interesting to note that the ancient Egyptian calendar of Thoth was based on a 10-day cycle. And here seven days was popular in ancient Babylon(about 2 thousand years BC).
In ancient Babylon, the seven-day cycle was associated with the phases of the moon. She was seen in the sky for about 28 days: 7 days the Moon increases to the first quarter; she needs the same amount until the full moon.
Also, the 7-day cycle was used by the ancient Jews. The notes of the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, dated to the 1st century AD, include the following words related to the seven days: "There is not a single city, Greek or barbarian, and not a single people, to which our custom of abstaining from work would not extend on the seventh day."
Jews and Christians adopted a 7-day cycle, because. the Old Testament indicated a 7-day weekly cycle established by God (the process of creating the world in 7 days):
first day - the creation of light
second day - the creation of firmament and water
the third day - the creation of sushi and plants
fourth day - the creation of heavenly bodies
fifth day - the creation of birds and fish
the sixth day - the creation of reptiles, animals and man.
the seventh day is dedicated to rest.
From an astronomical point of view, the motivation behind the 7-Day is pretty simple. All calendar calculations of ancient peoples based on the phases of the moon.
Their observation was the most convenient and simplest method for calculations and characteristics of time periods.
It is worth noting that in the ancient Roman calendar, the names of all 7 days of the week are associated with the names of the luminaries that can be seen with the naked eye, namely: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn.
In the modern calendar you can find these names thanks to Rome, which spread them throughout Western Europe.
And yet the calendar has always been used as ideological weapon. Despite the cosmic rhythms, Chinese and Japanese emperors, for example, introduced their own calendars to once again assert their power.
Tried several times in Europechange 7 day cycle, but there was no violation of the sequence of days.
Why is a week called a week
It doesn’t matter at all (from a theoretical point of view) from which day to count the week, since this is a cycle. You just need to divide the days into workdays and weekends.
The word "week" is familiar to us, and we do not even try to think about where this word came from.
Before the adoption of Christianity, it was customary to call the week a day off, and this day was the first of the week. But then the "day off" was made a day, which completes the weekly cycle.
The word week came from antiquity, where there was an expression "do not do", which meant "do nothing", in other words, "day off" or as we now call "Sunday".
Since I had to rest after work, and not before it, Sunday became the final day of the week.
Today, according to regulation International Organization for Standardization The week starts on Monday.
It is worth noting that before the term "week" was used, these same seven days were called "week"(in Bulgarian, a week is now called "week"). The last day of the week was considered the period when no one does anything, and since the week is the period from Sunday to Sunday (from "not doing" to "not doing"), the word "week" came into use.
Why are the days of the week named so?
Why is Monday called that?
According to one version, in Slavic languages, Monday means the day "after the week", because. "week", as already mentioned, is an old word for this Sunday.
In Europe, Monday was considered a lunar day, i.e. afternoon, patroness which was the moon.
In English - Monday (Moon day = moon day)
In Latin - Dies Lunae
In French - Lundi
In Spanish - el Lunes
Italian - Lunedi
Why is Tuesday so called?
In Slavic languages, Tuesday means the "second" day after Sunday.
In Latin - Dies Martis
French - Mardi
In Spanish - el Martes
Italian - Martedi
You can guess that in some European languages, the name of Tuesday comes from the god Mars.
But in European languages from the Germanic group, the emphasis was placed on the ancient Greek god Tiu (Tiu, Ziu), which is an analogue of Mars (Finnish - Tiistai, English - Tuesday, German - Dienstag).
Why is Wednesday called that?
Among the Slavs, "Wednesday" or "Wednesday" denotes the middle of the week, as well as in German Mittwoch, and in Finnish Keskeviikko. Previously, it was believed that the week began on Sunday, so Wednesday was its middle.
In Latin - Dies Mercuri
In French - le Mercredi
In Spanish - el Miercoles
In Italian - Mercoledi
In the name you can see the name of the god-planet Mercury.
If you delve into other languages, you will find that the English word Wednesday comes from the god Woden (Woden, Wotan). It is also "hidden" in the Swedish Onstag, the Dutch Woenstag and the Danish Onsdag.This god was represented as a tall, thin old man dressed in a black cloak. He became famous for the creation of the runic alphabet - this is what connects him with Mercury - the patron god of written and oral speech.
Why is Thursday so called?
In Slavic languages, the name of this day most likely simply means a number, i.e. fourth day. This word comes from the common Slavic word "fourth". Most likely, over time, "t" fell out, and the sound "k" became more sonorous, as it follows the sonorant sound "r".
In Latin - Dies Jovis
French - Jeudi
Spanish - Jueves
Italian - Giovedi
In European languages thursday descended from the militant Jupiter.
The counterpart of Jupiter in the Germanic languages was Thor, son of Oden, from which originated in English Thursday, in Finnish Torstai, in Swedish Torsdag, in German, Donnerstag, and in Danish Torsdag.
Why is it called Friday
Obviously, in the Slavic languages, the meaning lies in the number five, i.e. Friday = fifth day after Sunday.
In French - Vendredi
Spanish - Viernes
In Italian - Venerdi
It is logical to assume that the name of this day in some European languages comes from the Roman goddess Venus.
Her analogue in the German-Scandinavian myths is the goddess of love and war, Freya (Frigg, Freyra) - from her originated in English Friday, in Swedish Fredag, in German Freitag.
Why is Saturday called that?
The word "Saturday" came to us from the Old Slavonic language. Previously, it was taken from the Greek language (Sabbaton), and it got into Greek from the Hebrew language (sabbath, i.e. "seventh day", when work is not welcome). It will be interesting to note that in Spain "el Sabado", in Italy "Sabato", in France "Samedi" this word has the same roots. In Hebrew "Shabbat" means "peace, rest".
In Latin - Saturni
In English - Saturday
Saturn can be seen in these names.
In Finnish "Lauantai", Swedish "Lördag", Danish "Loverdag" most likely have roots in the Old German Laugardagr, which means "day of ablution".
Why is Sunday called that?
In many languages, including Latin, English and German, the name of the last day of the week comes from the Sun - "Sun", "Son".
But in Russian (Sunday), Spanish (Domingo), French (Dimanche) and Italian (Domenica), Christian themes lurk. Domingo, Dimanche and Domenica can be translated as "Day of the Lord".
Earlier in Russian this day was called "Week" (i.e. do not do-rest). But since the word "week" implied a specific day, what could the seven-day cycle be called? As mentioned earlier, the word "week" existed in the Slavic languages. "Sunday" is derived from "resurrect" - the day when, according to the scriptures, Jesus was resurrected.
Not every person thinks about all the little things in life, but some inquisitive minds still ask a lot of questions for every opportunity. If you think about it, there are many interesting questions you can ask. For example, why is the environment called the environment?
The name "Wednesday" is due to the fact that this day is the middle of the week. At least working. And in all Slavic languages, the name sounds about the same - Wednesday, Wednesday, streda. This is true for Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Croatian languages.
Even more relevant is the understanding of Wednesday as the average day of the week for European languages, where the countdown of days starts from Sunday, and this day turns out to be the average no longer for the working five-day period, but for the entire week, turning out to be not the third, but the fourth. And here, too, there is a tendency to call the day average - for example, in German, its name sounds like "mittvoch", that is, literally, the middle of the week.
English and French environment name
One traveler. Georg von Rosen, 1886
The supreme god, the master of Valhalla, is revered as the father of all gods and people.
However, if we turn to languages with slightly different traditions of naming the days of the week, then here the name will be different and have a different background. The French and English have different traditions, and the days of the week are named according to mythology, dedicating to one or another old god. In English, Wednesday is “Wensday”, and this day is dedicated to Odin, who was the supreme Scandinavian deity. One of his names sounds like Wotan, and the interpretation leads to this word. The Swedes and Danes call this day Onsdag, which again leads to Odin, whose name in different dialects sounded somewhat different. The French, Spaniards and Italians have an attachment to the Latin tradition of naming days, and here again a different situation will be traced, but still connected with ancient mythology. In these countries, the day is dedicated to the Roman god Mercury, and he is called Mercredi, Mercolez, and so on. Among the Romans, the name of the day sounded like Diez Mercury.
Ancient traditions give each day of the week the influence of a particular deity, and the Romans dedicated Wednesday to Mercury, who was responsible for trade, communication, roads and travel. The Greek counterpart is the god Hermes. However, in Scandinavian mythology, there were no deities with exactly the same features. The god Loki might be the most suitable, but he was associated more with deceit and fraud than directly with trade. And therefore the day was named after Odin, who, in general, also patronized travelers, but still more related to military tradition. However, each nation has its own worldview, and the essence of the energy of the day too.
Modern outlook
Modern astrologers also tend to correlate Wednesday with Mercury, the day is under the auspices of the corresponding planet and god. Mercury is the fastest planet in the solar system, it is located closest to the Sun and rotates faster than others, and the god Mercury is also swift. This is the speed of thought and the high speed of making useful contacts, the accelerated mutual understanding between people, and in general a fast, but positive course of affairs. On this day, it is recommended to make short trips, study foreign languages, communicate and make connections, promote business. However, do not lie and be hypocritical, this is a day of open and active people.
And this is indeed a fruitful time, even if you look at it from the point of view of human physiology and typical lifestyle. While on Monday many people get back to work heavily after a weekend break, by Tuesday the creative forces begin to accumulate, and it is on Wednesday that they reach their maximum, making it easy to redo the mass of work that may have accumulated over the past days.
During this period, when everyone is already involved in the work, it is easier to find the necessary business connections, work is easy - especially intellectual. Next comes Thursday, another creative day of the week when people manage to successfully complete even difficult tasks, and then, by Friday, creative energy is already on the decline, and the body needs rest. This is human nature - and many people notice all this on themselves every week.
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Beginners to learn a foreign language at school think: why in different countries the work week starts on Monday or Sunday? What is the best way to start counting days? And why are the days of the week called that? If the week consists of seven days, then why is it divided by Wednesday and not Thursday? Let's try to clear up this confusion.
Explanation for Quantity
We just take it for granted that a week has seven days. Where did this number come from? By the way, there were variants in history of three days, five, eight, etc. And the ancient Egyptian calendar consisted of a ten-day cycle.
In Old Russian and in some other languages, the week was called "week". It ended with a "week". This was the name of the last day of the cycle. From the word "do not do" or "do not": this day was a day off.
The seven-day cycle was chosen in ancient Babylon. And it is not at all accidental: it was based on the lunar cycle. The moon in the sky changed for 28 days: seven for each quarter. In addition, any calendar calculations in antiquity correlated with the lunar phases. This system turned out to be the most convenient, simple and accurate.
The ancient Jews also used a seven-day week in their calendar. But for other reasons. It was connected with the process of creation of the world by God. Recall that God created the world in seven days in this order:
1) Light was created on the first day.
2) Then: firmament and water.
3) Then God created land and plants.
4) Then came the turn of the heavenly bodies.
5) In the fifth - birds and fish were created.
6) Following them are reptiles, man and animals.
7) The last day was given to rest.
The Roman calendar also had seven days. But they were associated with the names of space objects:
- Sun;
- Moon;
- Mars;
- Mercury;
- Jupiter;
- Venus;
- Saturn.
By the way, it is with this calendar that the modern names of days in several foreign languages correlate. And they start on Sunday.
Origin of names for each day
First, let's determine how the names of days in English and many other languages \u200b\u200bhave come about. Translated from English, they sound like this:
Monday (Moon day) - the day of the moon; Latin - Dies Lunae;
Tuesday - there is a slight difference here: the god Tiu (Tiu) is an analogue of Mars (in Latin - Dies Martis);
Wednesday - Wotan (parallel with Mercury). In the Latin version - Dies Mercuri.
Thursday - in the name of the Thunderer Thor, an analogue of Jupiter. Latin - Dies Jovis.
Friday - Freya - an analogue of Aphrodite;
Saturday - Saturn.
Sunday is the day of the Sun.
By the way, in India, in Hindi, the days of the week are also associated with celestial bodies:
- Somvar - Moon
- Mangalwar - Mars
- Budhavar - Mercury
- Virvar - Jupiter
- Shukravar - Venus
- Shanivar - Saturn
- Ravivar - Sun.
But we are more interested in where the Russian names of the days of the week came from. Therefore, it is time to move on to closer and more familiar notations. Why are the days of the week called so?
Monday. Why is it called Monday? We already know that Sunday was called the word "week". Therefore, the next day became Monday, which means "after the week." That is, after a rest day.
Tuesday. Why is it called Tuesday? Here it is even simpler: Tuesday means the second day after the same Sunday.
Wednesday. Why is the environment called environment? Wednesday was considered the middle of the week. The question naturally arises: why Wednesday and not Thursday? The reason is the same: because the week started on Sunday. Therefore, the environment or "middle" is its middle.
There is another analogy: the environment has the same root with the word "heart". After all, it was previously believed that the heart is located in the middle of the human body.
Thursday. Why is Thursday called Thursday? All by the same analogy: Thursday is the fourth day after Sunday.
Friday. For many, this day is the last working day, so they are waiting for it to start with such excitement. Why is Friday called Friday? And here, too, the clue lies in the number of days after Sunday: five. But there are other explanations as well.
Once upon a time in pagan times, this day was considered a day off, a holiday. People weren't supposed to work on Friday. IN AND. Dahl noted in the Dictionary that the name Friday came from the name of St. Paraskeva. Even A. Pushkin once mentioned that Friday is a holy day (in The Young Lady-Peasant Woman).
Saturday. Why is Saturday called Saturday? The analogies with numbers don't end there. The word Sabbath is from the Hebrew language. Sabbath means the seventh day of the week. In many languages, this word has similar roots.
It is interesting that sometimes an analogy is made for this word (Hebrew shabes) with the Russian word "sabbath". This word is often found in classical literature in the meanings: "rest, end of work." For example, A. Kuprin in "Black Fog", A. Pushkin in "Dubrovsky", D. Mamin-Sibiryak in "Privalovsky Millions", etc.
Sunday. Originally considered a day off, although not everyone can afford to do nothing at the end of the week. Why is Sunday called Sunday? In Russian and some other (Spanish, French, Italian) languages, this day is associated with God. In Russian, the name comes from the Resurrection of the Lord, in other languages the translation sounds like the Day of the Lord.
By the same analogy, the days of the week are also called in the Ukrainian language, in Polish, Czech, Slovak languages.
Find out also why February has 28 days and not 30 or 31? In a leap year, February has 29 days. And it is this year, which repeats every three years, that is considered unlucky.