The names of the days of the week in many languages can be traced back to ancient astronomy, mythology, and the naming traditions of various cultures. In English, the days were named after Anglo-Saxon gods and celestial objects. But other languages such as Spanish, French, Hindi, and Mandarin have their own unique origins and influences for the day names. Exploring the etymology of the weekday names provides fascinating insights into history, culture, and the evolution of language.
Days Named After Gods and Celestial Objects
In English, the weekday names derive from Anglo-Saxon mythology. The Anglo-Saxons worshipped gods like Woden, Thor, Frigga, and Saturn – these deities lent their names to the days of the week:
| Day | Anglo-Saxon God |
| Wednesday | Woden (Odin) |
| Thursday | Thor |
| Friday | Frigga (Freyja) |
| Saturday | Saturn |
Woden was the chief god in Anglo-Saxon mythology and lent his name to Wednesday. Thor was the god of thunder and strength – Thursday derived from “Thor’s day.” Frigga was the goddess of love and beauty with Friday as “Frigga’s day.” Finally, Saturn was a Roman god associated with fun and feasting – Saturday came from “Saturn’s day.”
The remaining weekday names are linked to celestial objects:
| Day | Celestial Object |
| Sunday | Sun |
| Monday | Moon |
Sunday represented the Sun’s day while Monday was named after the Moon. This tradition of naming days after gods and celestial objects was common in many ancient cultures, including in Latin and the Northern European languages.
The Week Structure and Planet Names
The Babylonians developed the concept of a seven-day week around the 6th century BC. This was likely based on the four phases of the Moon combined with the visibility of Saturn, Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Moon – the five planets observable with the naked eye.
The Romans adopted this structure when they switched to a 7-day week in the 1st century AD, dedicating each day to a planet. However, the association between planets and weekday names was more clear in alchemy and astrology compared to everyday language.
| Day | Planet |
| Saturday | Saturn |
| Sunday | Sun |
| Monday | Moon |
| Tuesday | Mars |
| Wednesday | Mercury |
| Thursday | Jupiter |
| Friday | Venus |
Here we see the planet names corresponding to their position in the modern week structure, though the associations were not as directly made in Roman culture itself.
Weekday Names in Other Languages
While English borrowed from Germanic languages, other languages developed their own naming conventions for weekdays:
Spanish and French
In Spanish and French, most weekday names derive from the Roman gods representing the planets:
| Day | Spanish | French |
| Monday | lunes | lundi |
| Tuesday | martes | mardi |
| Wednesday | miércoles | mercredi |
| Thursday | jueves | jeudi |
| Friday | viernes | vendredi |
| Saturday | sábado | samedi |
| Sunday | domingo | dimanche |
Here we see clear connections to the Roman gods Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. However, Sunday and Monday break convention to follow “Lord’s Day” (domingo) and “Moon Day” (lunes/lundi).
Mandarin Chinese
In Mandarin, the weekday names literally reflect their numerical order in the week:
| Day | Mandarin | Meaning |
| Monday | 星期一 | Week day one |
| Tuesday | 星期二 | Week day two |
| Wednesday | 星期三 | Week day three |
| Thursday | 星期四 | Week day four |
| Friday | 星期五 | Week day five |
| Saturday | 星期六 | Week day six |
| Sunday | 星期日 | Week day seven |
This reflects the Chinese system of naming days directly by number going back to the Han Dynasty.
Hindi and Bengali
In Hindi and Bengali, the weekday names are numbered similarly to Chinese but the words for the numbers come from Sanskrit:
| Day | Hindi | Bengali | Number |
| Monday | सोमवार | সোমবার | One |
| Tuesday | मंगलवार | মঙ্গলবার | Two |
| Wednesday | बुधवार | বুধবার | Three |
| Thursday | गुरुवार | বৃহস্পতিবার | Four |
| Friday | शुक्रवार | শুক্রবার | Five |
| Saturday | शनिवार | শনিবার | Six |
| Sunday | रविवार | রবিবার | Seven |
Here the words “Som” (Monday), “Mangal” (Tuesday), “Budh” (Wednesday), “Guru” (Thursday), “Shukra” (Friday), “Shani” (Saturday), and “Ravi” (Sunday) come directly from the Sanskrit names for the Sun, Moon, and planets.
Origins of the 7-Day Week
The Babylonians were the first civilization to adopt a seven-day week around 600 BC. But why seven days exactly? There are a few theories:
– It aligned with the four phases of the Moon over ~28 days. So each week was roughly one lunar quarter.
– It reflected the seven planets visible to the naked eye – Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus.
– The Babylonians already had a lunar calendar system using multiples of seven, so a seven-day week fit within that existing structure.
In any case, the seven-day week proved enduring and spread through the civilized world in the centuries that followed. The Romans adopted it in the 1st century AD, and it became established through both Greek and Roman influence. Christian cultures also played a key role in proliferating the seven-day week during the Middle Ages.
While the cyclical concept of the week has remained constant, the naming conventions for weekdays have evolved across languages and cultures. Tracing the origins and meanings of the weekday names provides a fascinating window into history. The days of the week reveal roots in ancient gods, celestial objects, culture-specific numbering systems, and more. Their present diversity across global languages is a legacy of the intersections between astronomy, religion, mathematics, and human civilization.
Conclusion
In summary, the weekday names in modern languages derive from a combination of Greco-Roman astronomy and naming traditions, Germanic/Norse gods, and numbered systems for ordering days. English inherited its weekday names from Anglo-Saxon and Northern European gods like Woden, Thor, and Frigga. Other languages like Spanish, French, and Hindi took influence from the Roman naming conventions aligning gods with planets. And some cultures like Chinese and Bengali adopted a straightforward numerical ordering. But across all languages, the fundamental seven-day cycle traces back to the ancient Babylonians and the astronomical observations that inspired their calendar. Exploring the linguistic history behind weekday names provides a window into the interplay between astronomy, mathematics, religion, culture, and society over millennia.