hıstorıcal & lınguıstıc roots of the names of WEEK DAYS
When we wonder and make a search about the meanings of the names of week days & their historical or cultural roots, we notice out that they are generally sourcing from Astromy or Mythology, especiallt the Norse Mythology. below you will see where do all these names coming from.
Sunday,
.It’s the easiest one to see where the English word Sunday comes from. The first day of the week was named with the name of the sun which means ''The Day of the Sun''. Ä°t was also ''dies Solis'' – ''day of the sun'' in Latin and ''Sunnon-dagaz'' in old Germanic
Monday,
Monday, just like Sunday, had also been named after another well known and closest space object ''Moon''. Monday is the ''Moon'' day which is ''dies Lunae'' in Latin,
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Tuesday
Generally, English day names in a week are associated with the Roman gods & the planets which the Gods are assiciated with. Thus, some were substituted for the names of the equivalent Norse & Germanic gods. We already know that English is a Germanic, Anglo_Saxon origined language. Tuesday was named for the Roman god of war, Mars which in Latin was known as dies Martis. However, the Germanic god of war was known as ''Tiu'' and the English day of the week is derived from this Germanic God’s name instead. Ä°t was first known as Tiwsday and the final usage Tuesday.
Wednesday
the name Wednesday actually derives from two distinct gods Woden & Mercury one of which is a Roman & the other is a Germanic god. The Old English word for Wednesday indicates that the day was named for the Germanic god Woden. So Ä°t means ''Woden's Day''. But In Romance languages, the name is derived from the Roman god Mercury like they are mercredi in French and miercuri in Romanian.
Woden ''Odin'' is a widely revered god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Odin is associated with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and is the husband of the goddess Frigg.
Besides, Mercury is a major god in Roman religion and mythology. He is one of the 12 Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication, luck, trickery and thieves; he also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld
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Thursday
The name of this day also comes from two mythological gods one of which is Roman & the other one is Norse. Ä°n fact both of them isrelated with the same powers which are Lighting & thunder. Jupiter is the supreme Roman god and patron of the Roman state. He is the god that created thunder and lightning just as Thor is the Norse god of thunder who is often depicted while riding through the sky in a chariot. And in Latin ''dies Jovis'' (day of Jupiter) become ''Thor’s day'' and eventually Thursday.
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Friday from ‘Frigg’ (Norse goddess of fertility)
The Norse Goddess Frigg Primarily known as the spouse of the great Odin (The chief among Aesir Norse gods) and the Queen of Asgard, She is also known as ''Frigga'' and ''Frija'' in Germanic pagan cultures. Ä°n Roman pantheon Frigg or Freja equals to tge goddess Venus. Frigg has noble aspects of a devoted wife and motherhood and additionally possessed the power of prophecy.
The word for Friday in most Romance languages is derived from Latin ''dies Veneris'' which can be translated as "day of Venus". In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was the Roman counterpart to the Greek Aphrodite.
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Saturday
Saturday was named after the Roman god Saturn who is associated with the Greek Titan Cronus who was the father of Zeus and many other Olympians in the Greek pantheon. Its original Anglo-Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg. In Latin, it was ''dies Saturni'' which means "Day of Saturn". The German word for saturday ''Sonnabend'' and the Low German words Sünnavend mean "Sunday Eve". The German word Samstag that is mainly used in southern and western Germany was derived from the name for Shabbat.
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CRONUS (Kronos), a son of Uranus and Ge, and the youngest among the Titans. He was married to Rhea, by whom he became the father of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Cheiron is also called a son of Cronus. At the instigation of his mother, Cronus unmanned his father for having thrown the Cyclopes, who were likewise his children by Ge, into Tartarus. Out of the blood thus shed sprang up the Erinnyes. When the Cyclopes were delivered from Tartarus, the government of the world was taken from Uranus and given to Cronus, who in his turn lost it through Zeus, as was predicted to him by Ge and Uranus. [Zeus.] The Romans identified their Saturnus with the Cronus of the Greeks.
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
