Names of the days of the week

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Italian cameo bracelet representing the days of the week, corresponding to the planets as Roman gods: Diana as the Moon for Monday, Mars for Tuesday, Mercury for Wednesday, Jupiter for Thursday, Venus for Friday, Saturn for Saturday, and Apollo as the Sun for Sunday. Middle 19th century, Walters Art Museum
Heptagram of the seven celestial bodies of the week

The names of the days of the week in many languages are derived from the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astrology, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. In some other languages, the days are named after corresponding deities of the regional culture, either beginning with Sunday or with Monday. In the international standard ISO 8601, Monday is treated as the first day of the week.

Days named after planets[edit]

Greco-Roman tradition[edit]

Between the 1st and 3rd centuries, the Roman Empire gradually replaced the eight-day Roman nundinal cycle with the seven-day week. The earliest evidence for this new system is a Pompeiian graffito referring to 6 February (viii idus Februarius) of the year AD 60 as dies solis ("Sunday").[1] Another early witness is a reference to a lost treatise by Plutarch, written in about AD 100, which addressed the question of: "Why are the days named after the planets reckoned in a different order from the 'actual' order?".[2] (The treatise is lost, but the answer to the question is known; see planetary hours).

The Ptolemaic system of planetary spheres asserts that the order of the heavenly bodies, from the farthest to the closest to the Earth is: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, or, objectively, the planets are ordered from slowest to fastest moving as they appear in the night sky.[3]

The days were named after the planets of Hellenistic astrology, in the order: Sun, Moon, Mars (Ares), Mercury (Hermes), Jupiter (Zeus), Venus (Aphrodite) and Saturn (Cronos).[4]

The seven-day week spread throughout the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. By the 4th century, it was in wide use throughout the Empire, and it had also reached India and China.

The Greek and Latin names are as follows:

Day:
(see Irregularities)
Sunday
Sōl or Helios
(Sun)
Monday
Luna or Selene
(Moon)
Tuesday
Mars or Ares
(Mars)
Wednesday
Mercurius or Hermes
(Mercury)
Thursday
Jove or Zeus
(Jupiter)
Friday
Venus or Aphrodite
(Venus)
Saturday
Saturnus or Kronos
(Saturn)
Greek ἡμέρᾱ Ἡλίου
hēmérā Hēlíou
ἡμέρᾱ Σελήνης
hēmérā Selḗnēs
ἡμέρᾱ Ἄρεως
hēmérā Áreōs
ἡμέρᾱ Ἑρμοῦ
hēmérā Hermoû
ἡμέρᾱ Διός
hēmérā Diós
ἡμέρᾱ Ἀφροδῑ́της
hēmérā Aphrodī́tēs
ἡμέρᾱ Κρόνου
hēmérā Krónou
Latin diēs Sōlis diēs Lūnae diēs Mārtis diēs Mercuriī diēs Iovis diēs Veneris diēs Saturnī

Romance languages[edit]

Except for modern Portuguese and Mirandese, the Romance languages preserved the Latin names, except for the names of Sunday, which was replaced by [dies] Dominicus (Dominica), i.e. "the Lord's Day" and of Saturday, which was named for the Sabbath. Modern Portuguese uses numbered weekdays, (see below) but retains 'Sábado' and 'Domingo' for weekends.[5]

Day:
(see Irregularities)
Sunday
Sōl (Sun)
Monday
Luna (Moon)
Tuesday
Mars (Mars)
Wednesday
Mercurius (Mercury)
Thursday
Jove (Jupiter)
Friday
Venus (Venus)
Saturday
Saturnus (Saturn)
Italian domenica [☉1] lunedì martedì mercoledì giovedì venerdì sabato [♄1]
Old Portuguese
(pre-6th century)
domingo [☉1] lues martes mércores joves vernes sábado [♄1]
Galician domingo [☉1] luns martes mércores xoves venres sábado [♄1]
Spanish domingo [☉1] lunes martes miércoles jueves viernes sábado [♄1]
Romanian duminică [☉1] luni marți miercuri joi vineri sâmbătă [♄1]
French dimanche [☉1] lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi samedi [♄1]
Occitan dimenge [☉1] diluns dimars dimècres dijòus divendres dissabte [♄1]
Catalan diumenge [☉1] dilluns dimarts dimecres dijous divendres dissabte [♄1]
Asturian domingu [☉1] llunes martes miércoles xueves vienres sábadu [♄1]
Lombard (Milanese) domenega [☉1] lunedì martedì mercoldì giovedì venerdì sabet [♄1]
Lombard (Bresciano) duminica [☉1] lunedé martedé mercoldé gioedé venerdé sabot [♄1]
Ligurian doménga [☉1] lunedì mâtesdì mâcordì zéuggia venardì sàbbo [♄1]
Venetian domenega [☉1] luni marti mèrcore zobia vénare sabo [♄1]
Friulian domenie [☉1] lunis martars miercus joibe vinars sabide [♄1]
Neapolitan dummeneca [☉1] lunnerì marterì miercurì gioverì viernarì sàbbatu [♄1]
Sardinian dominiga [☉1] lunis martis mercuris iobia chenabura Sappadu [♄1]
Sicilian dumínica [☉1] luni marti mércuri juvi vénniri sábbatu [♄1]
Corsican dumenica luni marti màrcuri ghjovi vènnari sàbatu or sadorn

Celtic languages[edit]

Early Old Irish adopted the names from Latin, but introduced separate terms of Norse origin for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, then later supplanted these with terms relating to church fasting practices.

Day:
(see Irregularities)
Sunday
Sōl (Sun)
Monday
Luna (Moon)
Tuesday
Mars (Mars)
Wednesday
Mercurius (Mercury)
Thursday
Iuppiter (Jupiter)
Friday
Venus (Venus)
Saturday
Saturnus (Saturn)
Old Irish[6] Diu[7] srol
Dies scrol[8]
Diu luna[9] Diu mart[10] Diu iath[11] Diu eathamon[12] Diu triach[13] Diu saturn
Old Irish (later) Diu domnica Diu luna Diu mart Diu cétaín [☿2] Diu eter dib aínib [♃1] Diu aíne [♀1] Diu saturn
Irish An Domhnach [☉1]
Dé Domhnaigh
An Luan
Dé Luain
An Mháirt
Dé Máirt
An Chéadaoin [☿2]
Dé Céadaoin
An Déardaoin [♃1]
Déardaoin
An Aoine [♀1]
Dé hAoine
An Satharn
Dé Sathairn
Scottish Gaelic Di-Dòmhnaich / Didòmhnaich [☉1] Di-Luain / Diluain Di-Màirt / Dimàirt Di-Ciadain / Diciadain [☿2] Di-Ardaoin / Diardaoin [♃1] Di-hAoine / Dihaoine [♀1] Di-Sàthairne / Disathairne
Welsh dydd Sul dydd Llun dydd Mawrth dydd Mercher dydd Iau dydd Gwener dydd Sadwrn
Cornish Dy' Sul Dy' Lun Dy' Meurth Dy' Mergher Dy' Yow Dy' Gwener Dy' Sadorn
Breton Disul Dilun Dimeurzh Dimerc’her Diriaou Digwener Disadorn
Manx Jedoonee [☉1] Jelune Jemayrt Jecrean [☿2] Jerdein [♃1] Jeheiney [♀1] Jesarn

Adoptions from Romance[edit]

Albanian adopted the Latin terms for Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, adopted translations of the Latin terms for Sunday and Monday, and kept native terms for Thursday and Friday. Other languages adopted the week together with the Latin (Romance) names for the days of the week in the colonial period. Some constructed languages also adopted the Latin terminology.

Day:
(see Irregularities)
Sunday
Sōl (Sun)
Monday
Luna (Moon)
Tuesday
Mars (Mars)
Wednesday
Mercurius (Mercury)
Thursday
Iuppiter (Jupiter)
Friday
Venus (Venus)
Saturday
Saturnus (Saturn)
Albanian E diel E hënë E martë E mërkurë E enjte E premte E shtunë
Filipino Linggó [☉1]
Domínggo in most other Philippine languages
Lúnes Mártes Miyérkules Huwebes or colloquially Webes Biyernes Sábado [♄1]
Chamorro Damenggo Lunes Mattes Metkoles Huebes Betnes Sabalu
Māori[14] [Rā Tapu] [not celestially named] (rā + tapu = "holy day") Rāhina (rā + Māhina = day + Moon) Rātū (rā + Tūmatauenga = day + Mars) Rāapa (rā + Apārangi = day + Mercury) Rāpare (rā + Pareārau = day + Jupiter) Rāmere (rā + Mere = day + Venus) [Rā Horoi] [not celestially named] (rā + horoi = "washing day")
Interlingua Dominica [☉1] Lunedi Martedi Mercuridi Jovedi Venerdi Sabbato [♄1]
Ido Sundio Lundio Mardio Merkurdio Jovdio Venerdio Saturdio
Esperanto dimanĉo [☉1] lundo mardo merkredo ĵaŭdo vendredo sabato [♄1]
Lingua Franca Nova soldi lundi martedi mercurdi jovedi venerdi saturdi

Germanic tradition[edit]

The Germanic peoples adapted the system introduced by the Romans by substituting the Germanic deities for the Roman ones (with the exception of Saturday) in a process known as interpretatio germanica. The date of the introduction of this system is not known exactly, but it must have happened later than AD 200 but before the introduction of Christianity during the 6th to 7th centuries, i.e., during the final phase or soon after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.[15] This period is later than the Common Germanic stage, but still during the phase of undifferentiated West Germanic. The names of the days of the week in North Germanic languages were not calqued from Latin directly, but taken from the West Germanic names.

  • Sunday: Old English Sunnandæg (pronounced [ˈsunnɑndæj]), meaning "sun's day". This is a translation of the Latin phrase dies Solis. English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the day's association with the sun. Many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed its name to the equivalent of "the Lord's day" (based on Ecclesiastical Latin dies Dominica). In both West Germanic and North Germanic mythology, the Sun is personified as Sunna/Sól.
  • Monday: Old English Mōnandæg (pronounced [ˈmoːnɑndæj]), meaning "Moon's day". This is equivalent to the Latin name dies lunae. In North Germanic mythology, the Moon is personified as Máni.
  • Tuesday: Old English Tīwesdæg (pronounced [ˈtiːwezdæj]), meaning "Tiw's day". Tiw (Norse Týr) was a one-handed god associated with single combat and pledges in Norse mythology and also attested prominently in wider Germanic paganism. The name of the day is also related to the Latin name dies Martis, "Day of Mars".
  • Wednesday: Old English Wōdnesdæg (pronounced [ˈwoːdnezdæj]) meaning the day of the Germanic god Woden (known as Óðinn among the North Germanic peoples), and a prominent god of the Anglo-Saxons (and other Germanic peoples) in England until about the seventh century. It is also vaguely related to the Latin counterpart dies Mercurii, "Day of Mercury". The Icelandic Miðviku, German Mittwoch, Low German Middeweek and Finnish keskiviikko all mean mid-week.
  • Thursday: Old English Þūnresdæg (pronounced [ˈθuːnrezdæj]), meaning 'Þunor's day'. Þunor means thunder or its personification, the Norse god known in Modern English as Thor. Similarly Dutch donderdag, German Donnerstag ('thunder's day'), Finnish torstai, and Scandinavian Torsdag ('Thor's day'). Thor's day corresponds to Latin dies Iovis, "day of Jupiter".
  • Friday: Old English Frīgedæg (pronounced [ˈfriːjedæj]), meaning the day of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Fríge. The Norse name for the planet Venus was Friggjarstjarna, 'Frigg's star'. It is based on the Latin dies Veneris, "Day of Venus".
  • Saturday: named after the Roman god Saturn associated with the Titan Cronus, father of Zeus and many Olympians. Its original Anglo-Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg (pronounced [ˈsæturnezdæj]). In Latin, it was dies Saturni, "Day of Saturn". The Scandinavian Lørdag/Lördag deviates significantly as it has no reference to either the Norse or the Roman pantheon; it derives from old Norse laugardagr, literally "washing-day". The German Sonnabend (mainly used in northern and eastern Germany) and the Low German words Sünnavend mean "Sunday Eve", the German word Samstag (mainly used in southern and western Germany) derives from the name for Shabbat.
Day:
(see Irregularities)
Sunday
Sunna/Sól
Monday
Mona/Máni
Tuesday
Tiw/Tyr
Wednesday
Woden/Odin
Thursday
Thunor/Thor
Friday
Frige or Freya
Saturday
Saturn
Proto-Germanic *Sunnōniz dagaz *Mēniniz dagaz *Tīwas dagaz, *Þingsas dagaz [♂1] *Wōdanas dagaz *Þunras dagaz *Frijjōz dagaz *Saturnas dagaz, *Laugōz dagaz [♄2]
Old English Sunnandæg Mōnandæg Tīwesdæg Wōdnesdæg Þunresdæg Frīgedæg Sæternesdæg
Old Saxon Sunnundag *Mānundag *Tiuwesdag, *Thingesdag [♂1] Wōdanesdag *Thunaresdag Frīadag *Sunnunāƀand [♄3], *Satarnesdag
Old High German Sunnûntag Mânetag Zîestag Wuotanestag Donarestag Frîjatag Sunnûnâband [♄3], Sambaztag [♄1]
Middle Low German Sunnedag Manedag Dingesdag [♂1] Wodenesdag Donersdag Vrīdag Sunnenavend [♄3], Satersdag
German Sonntag Montag Dienstag [♂1], Ziestag (Alemannic German) Mittwoch [☿1] (older Wutenstag) Donnerstag Freitag Sonnabend [♄3], Samstag [♄1]
Yiddish Zuntik – זונטיק Montik – מאנטיק Dinstik – דינסטיק [♂1] Mitvokh – מיטוואך [☿1] Donershtik – דאנערשטיק Fraytik – פרײַטיק Shabbes – שבת [♄1]
Scots Saubath[♄1], Sunday Monanday Tysday Wadensday Fuirsday Friday Seturday
Dutch zondag maandag dinsdag [♂1] woensdag donderdag vrijdag zaterdag
Afrikaans Sondag Maandag Dinsdag [♂1] Woensdag Donderdag Vrydag Saterdag
Luxembourgish Sonndeg Méindeg Dënschdeg [♂1] Mëttwoch [☿1] Donneschdeg Freideg Samschdeg [♄1]
West Frisian Snein Moandei Tiisdei Woansdei Tongersdei Freed Sneon [♄3], Saterdei
Low Saxon Sünndag Maandag Dingsdag [♂1] Middeweek [☿1], Goonsdag (rarely Woonsdag) Dünnerdag Freedag Sünnavend [♄3], Saterdag
Old Norse sunnudagr mánadagr tysdagr óðinsdagr þórsdagr frjádagr laugardagr [♄2], sunnunótt [♄3]
Faroese sunnudagur mánadagur týsdagur mikudagur [☿1], ónsdagur (Suðuroy) hósdagur/
tórsdagur (Suðuroy)
fríggjadagur leygardagur [♄2]
Icelandic sunnudagur mánudagur þriðjudagur [♂3] miðvikudagur [☿1] fimmtudagur [♃3] föstudagur [♀1] laugardagur [♄2]
Norwegian Bokmål søndag mandag tirsdag onsdag torsdag fredag lørdag [♄2]
Norwegian Nynorsk sundag/søndag måndag tysdag onsdag torsdag fredag laurdag [♄2]
Danish søndag mandag tirsdag onsdag torsdag fredag lørdag [♄2]
Swedish söndag måndag tisdag onsdag torsdag fredag lördag [♄2]
Elfdalian sunndag mondag tisdag ųosdag tųosdag frjådag lovdag

Adoptions from Germanic[edit]

Day:
(see Irregularities)
Sunday
Sunna/Sól
Monday
Mona/Máni
Tuesday
Tiw/Tyr
Wednesday
Woden/Odin
Thursday
Thunor/Thor
Friday
Frige or Freya
Saturday
Saturn
Finnish sunnuntai maanantai tiistai keskiviikko [☿1] torstai perjantai lauantai [♄2]
Estonian pühapäev [☉2] esmaspäev teisipäev kolmapäev neljapäev reede laupäev [♄2]
Maori (transliteration; translation) Wiki[☉8]; Rātapu Mane; Rāhina Tūrei; Rātū Wenerei; Rāapa Tāite; Rāpare Paraire; Rāmere Hāterei; Rāhoroi

Indian tradition[edit]

Hindu astrology uses the concept of days under the regency of a planet under the term vāsara, the days of the week being called āditya-, soma-, maṅgala-, budha-, guru-, śukra-, and śani-vāsara. śukrá is a name of Venus (regarded as a son of Bhṛgu); guru is here a title of Bṛhaspati, and hence of Jupiter; budha "Mercury" is regarded as a son of Soma, i.e. the Moon.[16] Knowledge of Greek astrology existed since about the 2nd century BC, but references to the vāsara occur somewhat later, during the Gupta period (Yājñavalkya Smṛti, c. 3rd to 5th century), i.e. at roughly the same period the system was introduced in the Roman Empire.[citation needed]

In languages of Indian subcontinent[edit]

Sunday
the Sun
(Surya, Aditya, Ravi)
Monday
the Moon
(Soma, Chandra, Indu)
Tuesday
Mars
(Mangala)
Wednesday
Mercury
(Budha)
Thursday
Jupiter
(Bṛhaspati, Guru)
Friday
Venus
(Shukra)
Saturday
Saturn
(Shani)
Assamese দেওবাৰ/ৰবিবাৰ
Deubar/Robibar
সোমবাৰ
Xombar
মঙ্গলবাৰ
Monggolbar
বুধবাৰ
Budhbar
বৃহস্পতিবাৰ
Brihôshpotibar
শুক্রবাৰ
Xukrobar
শনিবাৰ
Xonibar
Balti Adeed
عدید
Tsandar
چَندار
Angaru
انگارو
Botu
بوتو
Brespod
بریس پود
Shugoru
شوگورو
Shingsher
شنگشر
Bengali রবিবার/রোববার
Robibār/Rōbobār
সোমবার
Shōmbār
মঙ্গলবার
Monggolbār
বুধবার
Budhbār
বৃহস্পতিবার/বিশুধবার
Brihošpotibār/Bishudhbār
শুক্রবার/জুমাবার
Shukrobār/Jumabār[♀4]
শনিবার
Shonibār
Bhojpuri एतवार
Aitwār
सोमार
Somār
मंगर
Mangar
बुध
Budh
बियफे
Bi'phey
सुक्क
Sukk
सनिच्चर
Sanichchar
Burushaski Adit
ادیت
Chandoro
چندورؤ
Angaro
نگارو
Bodo
بوڈو
Berayspat
بیرے سپاٹ
Shukuro
شوک ورؤ
Shemshayr
شیم شےر
Chitrali
(Khowar)
Yakshambey
یک شمبے
Doshambey
دو شمبے[☽4]
Seshambey
سہ شمبے
Charshambey
چار شمبے
Pachambey
پچھمبے
Adina
آدینہ [♀3]
Shambey
شمبے
Gujarati રવિવાર
Ravivār
સોમવાર
Somvār
મંગળવાર
Mangaḷvār
બુધવાર
Budhvār
ગુરૂવાર
Guruvār
શુક્રવાર
Shukravār
શનિવાર
Shanivār
Hindi रविवार
Ravivār
सोमवार
Somavār
मंगलवार
Mangalavār
बुधवार
Budhavār
गुरूवार
Guruvār
शुक्रवार
Shukravār
शनिवार
Shanivār
Hindko Atwaar
اتوار
Suwar
سؤ وار
Mungal
منگل
Bud
بدھ
Jumiraat
جمعرات
Jummah
جمعہ
Khali
خالي
Konkani आयतार
Āytār
सोमार
Somaar
मंगळार
Mangaḷār
बुधवार
Budhavār
भीरेस्तार
Bhirestār
शुक्रार
Shukrār
शेनवार
Shenvār
Maldivian އާދީއްތަ
Aadheettha
ހޯމަ
Homa
އަންގާރަ
Angaara
ބުދަ
Budha
ބުރާސްފަތި
Buraasfathi
ހުކުރު
Hukuru
ހޮނިހިރު
Honihiru
Marathi रविवार
Ravivār
सोमवार
Somavār
मंगळवार
Mangaḷavār
बुधवार
Budhavār
गुरूवार
Guruvār
शुक्रवार
Shukravār
शनिवार
Shanivār
Kashmiri /aːtʰwaːr/
آتھوار
/t͡səndɨrwaːr/

ژٔندٕروار

/bomwaːr/

بۆموار

/bɔdwaːr/

بۄد وار

/braswaːr/

برسوار

/shokɨrwaːr/ or /jumaːh
شۆکٕروار / جُماہ
/baʈɨwaːr/

بتٕہ وار

Kannada ಭಾನುವಾರ
Bhanu Vaara
ಸೋಮವಾರ
Soma Vaara
ಮಂಗಳವಾರ
Mangala Vaara
ಬುಧವಾರ
Budha Vaara
ಗುರುವಾರ
Guru Vaara
ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ
Shukra Vaara
ಶನಿವಾರ
Shani Vaara
Malayalam ഞായര്‍
Nhāyar
തിങ്കള്‍
Tingal
ചൊവ്വ
Chovva
ബുധന്‍
Budhan
വ്യാഴം
Vyāzham
വെള്ളി
Velli
ശനി
Shani
Nepali आइतवार
Aaitabar
सोमवार
Sombar
मंगलवार
Mangalbar
बुधवार
Budhabar
बिहिवार
Bihibar
शुक्रवार
Sukrabar
शनिवार
Sanibar
Odia ରବିବାର
Rabibār
ସୋମବାର
Sombār
ମଙ୍ଗଳବାର
Mangalbār
ବୁଧବାର
Buddhbār
ଗୁରୁବାର
Gurubār
ଶୁକ୍ରବାର
Shukrabār
ଶନିବାର
Shanibār
Pashto Etwar
اتوار
Gul
ګل
Nehi
نهه
Shoro
شورو
Ziarat
زيارت
Jumma
جمعه
Khali
خالي
Punjabi
(Gurmukhi)
ਐਤਵਾਰ
etvār
ਸੋਮਵਾਰ
sōmvār
ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ
mangalvār
ਬੁੱਧਵਾਰ
búdvār
ਵੀਰਵਾਰ
vīrvār
ਸ਼ੁੱਕਰਵਾਰ
shukkarvār
ਸ਼ਨਿੱਚਰਵਾਰ
shaniccharvār
Rohingya rooibar cómbar mongolbar buidbar bicíbbar cúkkurbar cónibar
Sanskrit भानुवासर
Bhānuvāsara
इन्दुवासर
Induvāsara
भौमवासर
Bhaumavāsara
सौम्यवासर
Saumyavāsara
गुरुवासर
Guruvāsara
भृगुवासर
Bhṛguvāsara
स्थिरवासर
Sthiravāsara
Shina Adit
ادیت
Tsunduro
تساند ورؤ
Ungaro
نگارو
Budo
بوڈو
Brespat
بیرے سپاٹ
Shukur
شوکر
Shimsher
شیم شےر
Sindhi Aacheru
آچر
Soomaru
سومر
Angaro
انڱارو
Arbau
اربع
Kameesa
خميس
Jum'o
جمعو
Chancher
ڇنڇر
Sinhala ඉරිදා
Irida
සඳුදා
Sanduda
අඟහරුවාදා
Angaharuwada
බදාදා
Badada
බ්‍රහස්පතින්දා
Brahaspathinda
සිකුරාදා
Sikurada
සෙනසුරාදා
Senasurada
Sylheti ꠞꠂꠛ꠆ꠛꠣꠞ
Roibbar
ꠡꠝ꠆ꠛꠣꠞ
Shombar
ꠝꠋꠉꠟ꠆ꠛꠣꠞ
Mongolbar
ꠛꠥꠗ꠆ꠛꠣꠞ
Budhbar
ꠛꠤꠡꠥꠗ꠆ꠛꠣꠞ
Bishudhbar
ꠡꠥꠇ꠆ꠇꠥꠞ꠆ꠛꠣꠞ/ꠎꠥꠝ꠆ꠝꠣꠛꠣꠞ
Shukkurbar/Jummabar[♀4]
ꠡꠘꠤꠛꠣꠞ
Shonibar
Tamil ஞாயிறு
Nyāyiru
திங்கள்
Thingal
செவ்வாய்
Chevvāi
புதன்
Budhan
வியாழன்
Viyāzhan
வெள்ளி
Velli
சனி
Sani
Telugu ఆదివారం
Aadi Vāram
సోమవారం
Soma Vāram
మంగళవారం
Mangala Vāram
బుధవారం
Budha Vāram
గురువారం
Bestha/Guru/Lakshmi Vāram
శుక్రవారం
Shukra Vāram
శనివారం
Shani Vāram
Urdu Itwār
اتوار
Pīr
پیر [☽4]
Mangal
منگل
Bodh
بدھ
Jumārāt
جمعرات
Jummah
جمعہ[♀4]
Heftah
ہفتہ [♄6]
Western Punjabi
(Shahmukhi)
Aitwār
اتوار
Pīr
پیر
Mangal
منگل
Budh
بدھ
Jumāy-rāt
جمعرات
Jummah
جمعہ
Hafta
ہفتہ

Southeast Asian languages[edit]

The Southeast Asian tradition also uses the Hindu names of the days of the week. Hindu astrology adopted the concept of days under the regency of a planet under the term vāra, the days of the week being called āditya-, soma-, maṅgala-, budha-, guru-, śukra-, and śani-vāra. śukrá is a name of Venus (regarded as a son of Bhṛgu); guru is here a title of Bṛhaspati, and hence of Jupiter; budha "Mercury" is regarded as a son of Soma, i.e. the Moon.[17]

Sunday
the Sun
(Aditya, Ravi)
Monday
the Moon
(Soma, Chandra, Indu)
Tuesday
Mars
(Mangala)
Wednesday
Mercury
(Budha)
Thursday
Jupiter
(Bṛhaspati, Guru)
Friday
Venus
(Shukra)
Saturday
Saturn
(Shani)
Burmese တနင်္ဂနွေ[☉9]
IPA: [tənɪ́ɰ̃ ɡənwè]
(ta.nangga.new)
တနင်္လာ[☽5]
IPA: [tənɪ́ɰ̃ là]
(ta.nangla)
အင်္ဂါ
IPA: [ɪ̀ɰ̃ ɡà]
(Angga)
ဗုဒ္ဓဟူး
IPA: [boʊʔ dəhú]
(Buddhahu)
(afternoon=new day)
ရာဟု
Rahu
ကြာသာပတေး
IPA: [tɕà ðà bədé]
(Krasapate)
သောကြာ
IPA: [θaʊʔ tɕà]
(Saukra)
စနေ
IPA: [sənè]
(Cane)
Mon တ္ၚဲ အဒိုတ်
[ŋoa ətɜ̀t]
from Sans. āditya
တ္ၚဲ စန်
[ŋoa cɔn]
from Sans. candra
တ္ၚဲ အၚါ
[ŋoa əŋɛ̀a]
from Sans. aṅgāra
တ္ၚဲ ဗုဒ္ဓဝါ
[ŋoa pùt-həwɛ̀a]
from Sans. budhavāra
တ္ၚဲ ဗြဴဗ္တိ
[ŋoa pɹɛ̀apətɔeʔ]
from Sans. bṛhaspati
တ္ၚဲ သိုက်.
[ŋoa sak]
from Sans. śukra
တ္ၚဲ သ္ၚိ သဝ်
[ŋoa hɔeʔ sɔ]
from Sans. śani
Khmer ថ្ងៃអាទិត្យ
[tŋaj ʔaːtɨt]
ថ្ងៃចន្ទ
[tŋaj can]
ថ្ងៃអង្គារ
[tŋaj ʔɑŋkiə]
ថ្ងៃពុធ
[tŋaj put]
ថ្ងៃព្រហស្បត្ណិ
[tŋaj prɔhoə̯h]
ថ្ងៃសុក្រ
[tŋaj sok]
ថ្ងៃសៅរ៍
[tŋaj saʋ]
Lao ວັນອາທິດ
[wán ʔàːtʰīt]
ວັນຈັນ
[wán càn]
ວັນອັງຄານ
[wán ʔàŋkʰáːn]
ວັນພຸດ
[wán pʰūt]
ວັນພະຫັດ
[wán pʰāhát]
ວັນສຸກ
[wán súk]
ວັນເສົາ
[wán sǎu]
Cham Adit Thôm Angar But jip Suk Thanưchăn
Shan ဝၼ်းဢႃတိတ်ႉ
IPA: [wan˦ ʔaː˩ tit˥]
ဝၼ်းၸၼ်
IPA: [wan˦ tsan˩]
ဝၼ်းဢင်းၵၼ်း
IPA: [wan˦ ʔaŋ˦ kan˦]
ဝၼ်းၽုတ်ႉ
IPA: [wan˦ pʰut˥]
ဝၼ်းၽတ်း
IPA: [wan˦ pʰat˦]
ဝၼ်းသုၵ်း
IPA: [wan˦ sʰuk˦]
ဝၼ်းသဝ်
IPA: [wan˦ sʰaw˩]
Thai วันอาทิตย์
Wan Āthit
วันจันทร์
Wan Chan
วันอังคาร
Wan Angkhān
วันพุธ
Wan Phut
วันพฤหัสบดี
Wan Phruehatsabodi
วันศุกร์
Wan Suk
วันเสาร์
Wan Sao
Javanese Raditya Soma Anggara Buda Respati Sukra Tumpek
Balinese Redite Soma Anggara Buda Wrespati Sukra Saniscara
Toba Batak Artia Suma Anggara Muda Boraspati Singkora Samisara
Angkola-Mandailing Batak Arita Suma Anggara Muda Boraspati Sikkora Samisara
Simalungun Batak Aditia Suma Anggara Mudaha Boraspati Sihora Samisara
Karo Batak Aditia Suma Nggara Budaha Beraspati Cukra Belah Naik
Pakpak Batak Antia Suma Anggara Budaha/Muda Beraspati Cukerra Belah Naik

Northeast Asian languages[edit]

Sunday
the Sun
(Aditya, Ravi)
Monday
the Moon
(Soma, Chandra, Indu)
Tuesday
Mars
(Mangala)
Wednesday
Mercury
(Budha)
Thursday
Jupiter
(Bṛhaspati, Guru)
Friday
Venus
(Shukra)
Saturday
Saturn
(Shani)
Mongolian адъяа
ad'yaa
сумъяа
sum'yaa
ангараг
angarag
буд
bud
бархабадь
barhabad'
сугар
sugar
санчир
sanchir
Kalmyk xal:адъян өдр
ad'yan ödr
xal:сумъян өдр
sum'yan ödr
xal:мингъян өдр
ming'yan ödr
xal:будан өдр
budan ödr
xal:гуръян өдр
gur'yan ödr
xal:шикрян өдр
shikr'yan ödr
xal:шанун өдр
shanun ödr

East Asian tradition[edit]

The East Asian naming system for the days of the week closely parallels that of the Latin system and is ordered after the "Seven Luminaries" (七曜 qī yào), which consists of the Sun, Moon and the five planets visible to the naked eye.

The Chinese had apparently adopted the seven-day week from the Hellenistic system by the 4th century, although by which route is not entirely clear. It was again transmitted to China in the 8th century by Manichaeans, via the country of Kang (a Central Asian polity near Samarkand).[18] The 4th-century date, according to the Cihai encyclopedia,[year needed] is due to a reference to Fan Ning (范寧/范宁), an astrologer of the Jin Dynasty. The renewed adoption from Manichaeans in the 8th century (Tang Dynasty) is documented with the writings of the Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing and the Ceylonese Buddhist monk Bu Kong.

The Chinese transliteration of the planetary system was soon brought to Japan by the Japanese monk Kobo Daishi; surviving diaries of the Japanese statesman Fujiwara Michinaga show the seven-day system in use in Heian Period Japan as early as 1007. In Japan, the seven-day system was kept in use (for astrological purposes) until its promotion to a full-fledged (Western-style) calendrical basis during the Meiji era. In China, with the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, Monday through Saturday in China are now named after the luminaries implicitly with the numbers.

Pronunciations for Classical Chinese names are given in Standard Chinese.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Celestial Object Sun (日)
First Star – Sun (太陽星)
Moon (月)
Second Star – Moon (太陰星)
Mars (火星)
Third Star – Fire (熒惑星)
Mercury (水星)
Fourth Star – Water (辰星)
Jupiter (木星)
Fifth Star – Wood (歲星)
Venus (金星)
Sixth Star – Metal or Gold (太白星)
Saturn (土星)
Seventh Star – Earth or Soil (鎮星)
Classical Chinese 日曜日
Rìyàorì
月曜日
Yuèyàorì
火曜日
Huǒyàorì
水曜日
Shuǐyàorì
木曜日
Mùyàorì
金曜日
Jīnyàorì
土曜日
Tǔyàorì
Japanese 日曜日
Nichiyōbi
月曜日
Getsuyōbi
火曜日
Kayōbi
水曜日
Suiyōbi
木曜日
Mokuyōbi
金曜日
Kin'yōbi
土曜日
Doyōbi
Korean 일요일
日曜日
Ilyoil
월요일
月曜日
Wolyoil
화요일
火曜日
Hwayoil
수요일
水曜日
Suyoil
목요일
木曜日
Mogyoil
금요일
金曜日
Geumyoil
토요일
土曜日
Toyoil
Mongolian наран өдөр naraŋ ödör саран өдөр saraŋ ödör гал өдөр gal ödör усан өдөр usaŋ ödör модон өдөр modoŋ ödör төмөр өдөр, алтан өдөр tömör ödör, altaŋ ödör шороон өдөр shorooŋ ödör
Mongolian
(Transliteration from Tibetan)
ням
nyam
даваа
davaa
мягмар
myagmar
лхагва
lhagva
пүрэв
pürev
баасан
baasan
бямба
byamba
Tibetan གཟའ་ཉི་མ།
(gza' nyi ma)
Nyima
གཟའ་ཟླ་བ།
(gza' zla wa)
Dawa
གཟའ་མིག་དམར།
(gza' mig dmar)
Mikmar
གཟའ་ལྷག་པ།
(gza' lhak pa)
Lhakpa
གཟའ་ཕུར་བུ།
(gza' phur bu)
Purbu
གཟའ་པ་སངས།
(gza' pa sangs)
Pasang
གཟའ་སྤེན་པ།
(gza' spen ba)
Penba

Numbered days of the week[edit]

Days numbered from Monday[edit]

The ISO prescribes Monday as the first day of the week with ISO-8601 for software date formats.

The Slavic, Baltic and Uralic languages (except Finnish and partially Estonian) adopted numbering but took Monday rather than Sunday as the "first day".[19] This convention is also found in some Austronesian languages whose speakers were converted to Christianity by European missionaries.[20]

In Slavic languages, some of the names correspond to numerals after Sunday: compare Russian vtornik (вторник) "Tuesday" and vtoroj (второй) "the second", chetverg (четверг) "Thursday" and chetvjortyj (четвёртый) "the fourth", pyatnitsa (пятница) "Friday" and pyatyj (пятый) "the fifth"; see also the Notes.

Day
Number From One
Monday
Day One
Tuesday
Day Two
Wednesday
Day Three
Thursday
Day Four
Friday
Day Five
Saturday
Day Six
Sunday
Day Seven
ISO 8601 # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Russian понедельник
ponedel'nik [☽1]
вторник
vtornik
среда
sreda [☿1]
четверг
chetverg [♃4]
пятница
pyatnitsa [♀5]
суббота
subbota [♄1]
воскресенье
voskresen'ye [☉3]
Belarusian панядзелак
panyadzelak [☽1]
аўторак
awtorak
серада
serada [☿1]
чацвер
chats'ver [♃4]
пятніца
pyatnitsa [♀5]
субота
subota [♄1]
нядзеля
nyadzelya [☉6]
Ukrainian понедiлок
ponedilok [☽1]
вiвторок
vivtorok
середа
sereda [☿1]
четвер
chetver [♃4]
п'ятниця
p'yatnitsya [♀5]
субота
subota [♄1]
недiля
nedilya [☉6]
Bulgarian понеделник
ponedelnik [☽1]
вторник
vtornik
сряда
sryada [☿1]
четвъртък
chetvărtăk [♃4]
петък
petăk [♀5]
събота
săbota [♄1]
неделя
nedelya [☉6]
Polish poniedziałek [☽1] wtorek środa [☿1] czwartek [♃4] piątek [♀5] sobota [♄1] niedziela [☉6]
Kashubian pòniedzôłk wtórk strzoda czwiôrtk piątk sobòta niedzela
Slovak pondelok [☽1] utorok streda [☿1] štvrtok [♃4] piatok [♀5] sobota [♄1] nedeľa [☉6]
Czech pondělí [☽1] úterý středa [☿1] čtvrtek [♃4] pátek [♀5] sobota [♄1] neděle [☉6]
Slovene ponedeljek [☽1] torek sreda [☿1] četrtek [♃4] petek [♀5] sobota [♄1] nedelja [☉6]
Bosnian ponedjeljak utorak srijeda četvrtak [♃4] petak [♀5] subota nedjelja
Croatian ponedjeljak [☽1] utorak srijeda [☿1] četvrtak [♃4] petak [♀5] subota [♄1] nedjelja [☉6]
Serbian понедељак
ponedeljak [☽1]
уторак
utorak
среда
sreda [☿1]
четвртак
četvrtak [♃4]
петак
petak [♀5]
субота
subota [♄1]
недеља
nedelja [☉6]
Macedonian понеделник
ponedelnik [☽1]
вторник
vtornik
среда
sreda [☿1]
четврток
chetvrtok [♃4]
петок
petok [♀5]
сабота
sabota [♄1]
недела
nedela [☉6]
Lithuanian pirmadienis antradienis trečiadienis ketvirtadienis penktadienis [♀5] šeštadienis sekmadienis
Latvian pirmdiena otrdiena trešdiena ceturtdiena [♃4] piektdiena [♀5] sestdiena svētdiena
Hungarian hétfő [☽3] kedd [♂2] szerda [☿1] Slavic csütörtök [♃4] Slavic péntek [♀5] Hellenic szombat [♄1] Hebrew vasárnap [☉5]
Estonian esmaspäev teisipäev kolmapäev neljapäev reede laupäev pühapäev
Mongolian
(numerical)
нэг дэх өдөр
neg dekh ödör
хоёр дахь өдөр
hoyor dahi ödör
гурав дахь өдөр
gurav dahi ödör
дөрөв дэх өдөр
döröv dekh ödör
тав дахь өдөр
tav dahi ödör
хагас сайн өдөр
hagas sayn ödör [♄7]
бүтэн сайн өдөр
büten sayn ödör [☉7]
Luo Wuok tich Tich ariyo Tich adek Tich ang'uen Tich abich Chieng' ngeso Juma pil
Tok Pisin (Melanesian Pidgin) mande tunde trinde fonde fraide sarere sande
Apma (Vanuatu) ren bwaleh / mande[21] ren karu ren katsil ren kavet ren kalim lesaare sande

In Standard Chinese, the week is referred to as the "Stellar Period" (Chinese: 星期; pinyin: Xīngqī) or "Cycle" (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōu).

The modern Chinese names for the days of the week are based on a simple numerical sequence. The word for "week" is followed by a number indicating the day: "Monday" is literally the "Stellar Period One"/"Cycle One", i.e. the "First day of the Stellar Period/Cycle", etc. The exception is Sunday, where 日 (), "day" or "Sun", is used instead of a number.[22] A slightly informal and colloquial variant to 日 is 天 (tiān) "day" or "sky".

Accordingly, the notational abbreviation of the days of the week uses the numbers, e.g. 一 for "M" or "Mon(.)", "Monday". Note that the abbreviation of Sunday uses exclusively 日 and not 天. Attempted usage of 天 as such will not be understood.

Colloquially, the week is also known as the "Prayer" (simplified Chinese: 礼拜; traditional Chinese: 禮拜; pinyin: Lǐbài), with the names of the days of the week formed accordingly.

The following is a table of the Mandarin names of the days of the weeks. Note that standard Taiwan Mandarin pronounces 期 as , so 星期 is instead xīngqí. While all varieties of Mandarin may pronounce 星期 as xīngqi and 禮拜/礼拜 as lǐbai, the second syllable with the neutral tone, this is not reflected in the table either for legibility.

Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Standard Modern Chinese 星期一
Xīngqīyī
星期二
Xīngqī'èr
星期三
Xīngqīsān
星期四
Xīngqīsì
星期五
Xīngqīwǔ
星期六
Xīngqīliù
星期日 (or 星期天)
Xīngqīrì (or Xīngqītiān)
週一
Zhōuyī
週二
Zhōu'èr
週三
Zhōusān
週四
Zhōusì
週五
Zhōuwǔ
週六
Zhōuliù
週日 (or rarely 週天)
Zhōurì (or Zhōutiān)
Standard Modern Chinese
(regional, informal, colloquial)
禮拜一
Lǐbàiyī
禮拜二
Lǐbài'èr
禮拜三
Lǐbàisān
禮拜四
Lǐbàisì
禮拜五
Lǐbàiwǔ
禮拜六
Lǐbàiliù
禮拜天 (or 禮拜日)
Lǐbàitiān (or Lǐbàirì)

Days numbered from Sunday[edit]

Sunday comes first in order in calendars shown in the table below. In the Judeo-Christian or Abrahamic tradition, the first day of the week is Sunday. Biblical Sabbath (corresponding to Saturday), when God rested from six-day Creation, made the day following Sabbath the first day of the week (corresponding to Sunday). Seventh-day Sabbaths were sanctified for celebration and rest. After the week was adopted in early Christianity, Sunday remained the first day of the week, but also gradually displaced Saturday as the day of celebration and rest, being considered the Lord's Day.

Saint Martin of Dumio (c. 520–580), archbishop of Braga, decided not to call days by pagan gods and to use ecclesiastic terminology to designate them. While the custom of numbering the days of the week was mostly prevalent in the Eastern Church, Portuguese and Galician, due to Martin's influence, are the only Romance languages in which the names of the days come from numbers rather than planetary names.[23]

Icelandic is a special case within the Germanic languages, maintaining only the Sun and Moon (sunnudagur and mánudagur respectively), while dispensing with the names of the explicitly heathen gods in favour of a combination of numbered days and days whose names are linked to pious or domestic routine (föstudagur, "Fasting Day" and laugardagur, "Washing Day"). The "washing day" is also used in other North Germanic languages, but otherwise the names correspond to those of English.

Day
Number From One
Sunday
Day One
Monday
Day Two
Tuesday
Day Three
Wednesday
Day Four
Thursday
Day Five
Friday
Day Six
Saturday
Day Seven
Icelandic sunnudagur (Sun) mánudagur (Moon) þriðjudagur miðvikudagur [☿1] fimmtudagur föstudagur [♀1] laugardagur [♄2]
Faroese sunnudagur mánadagur týsdagur mikudagur hósdagur fríggjadagur leygardagur
Hebrew ראשון
rishon
שני
sheyni
שלישי
shlishi
רביעי
revi'i
חמישי
khamishi
שישי
shishi
שבת
Shabbat[♄1]
Ecclesiastical Latin Dominica [☉1] feria secunda feria tertia feria quarta feria quinta feria sexta sabbatum [♄1]
Portuguese domingo [☉1] segunda-feira terça-feira quarta-feira quinta-feira sexta-feira sábado [♄1]
Galician domingo [☉1] segunda feira terza feira
terceira feira
corta feira
quarta feira
quinta feira sexta feira sábado [♄1]
Mirandese demingo [☉1] segunda-feira terça-feira quarta-feira quinta-feira sesta-feira sábado [♄1]
Tetum loron-domingu loron-segunda loron-tersa loron-kuarta loron-kinta loron-sesta loron-sábadu
Greek Κυριακή
Kyriakí [☉1]
Δευτέρα
Deftéra
Τρίτη
Tríti
Τετάρτη
Tetárti
Πέμπτη
Pémpti
Παρασκευή
Paraskeví [♀2]
Σάββατο
Sávato [♄1]
Georgian კვირა k'vira ორშაბათი oršabati სამშაბათი samšabati ოთხშაბათი otxšabati ხუთშაბათი xutšabati პარასკევი p'arask'evi შაბათი šabati
Armenian Կիրակի
Kiraki [☉1]
Երկուշաբթի
Yerkushabti
Երեքշաբթի
Yerekshabti
Չորեքշաբթի
Chorekshabti
Հինգշաբթի
Hingshabti
Ուրբաթ
Urbat
Շաբաթ
Shabat [♄1]
Vietnamese chủ nhật/chúa nhật
主日
(ngày) thứ hai
(𣈜) 次𠄩
(ngày) thứ ba
(𣈜) 次𠀧
(ngày) thứ tư
(𣈜) 次四
(ngày) thứ năm
(𣈜) 次𠄼
(ngày) thứ sáu
(𣈜) 次𦒹
(ngày) thứ bảy
(𣈜) 次𦉱
Somali Axad Isniin Talaado Arbaco Khamiis Jimco Sabti
Amharic እሑድ
əhud
ሰኞ
säñño (Next)
ማክሰኞ
maksäñño
ረቡዕ, ሮብ
räbu, rob
ሐሙስ
hamus
ዓርብ
arb (Sunset)
ቅዳሜ
ḳədame (First)
Arabic يوم) الأحد)
(yawm) al-aḥad
يوم) الإثنين)
(yawm) al-ithnayn
يوم) الثُّلَاثاء)
(yawm) ath-thulāthā’
يوم) الأَرْبعاء)
(yawm) al-’arbi‘ā’
يوم) الخَمِيس)
(yawm) al-khamīs
يوم) الجُمْعَة)
(yawm) al-jum‘ah [♀4]
يوم) السَّبْت)
(yawm) as-sabt [♄5]
Maltese il-Ħadd it-Tnejn it-Tlieta l-Erbgħa il-Ħamis il-Ġimgħa [♀4] is-Sibt [♄5]
Malay
(includes Indonesian)
Ahad (general)
Minggu[☉1](Indonesian, derived from Portuguese)
Isnin or Senin Selasa Rabu K(h)amis Juma(a)t [♀4] Sabtu [♄5]
Javanese Ngahad, Ngakad,
Minggu[☉1] (Portuguese)
Senèn Selasa Rebo Kemis Jemuwah [♀4] Setu [♄5]
Sundanese Minggu / Minggon [☉1] (Portuguese) Senén Salasa Rebo Kemis Jumaah [♀4] Saptu [♄5]
Persian یکشنبه
yekšanbe
Mehr ruz
مهرروز
دوشنبه
došanbe
Māh ruz
ماه روز
سه شنبه
sešanbe
Bahrām ruz
بهرام روز
چهارشنبه
čāhāršanbe
Tir ruz
تیر روز
پنجشنبه
panjšanbe
Hormazd ruz
هرمزد روز
آدینه or جمعه
ādine [♀3] or djome [♀4]
Nāhid ruz
ناهید روز
شنبه
šanbe
Keyvān ruz
کیوان روز
Kazakh Жексенбі
Jeksenbi
Дүйсенбі
Dúısenbi
Сейсенбі
Seısenbi
Сәрсенбі
Sársenbi
Бейсенбі
Beısenbi
Жұма
Juma
Сенбі
Senbi
Khowar یک شمبے
yak shambey
دو شمبے[☽4]
du shambey
سہ شمبے
sey shambey
چار شمبے
char shambey
پچھمبے
pachhambey
آدینہ[♀3]
adina
شمبے
shambey
Kurdish Yekşem Duşem Sêşem Çarşem Pêncşem În Şemî
Old Turkic birinç kün ikinç kün üçünç kün törtinç kün beşinç kün altınç kün yetinç kün
Turkish Pazar [☉4] Pazartesi [☽2] Salı [♂4] Çarşamba [☿4] Perşembe [♃4] Cuma [♀4] Cumartesi [♄4]
Uzbek Yakshanba Dushanba Seshanba Chorshanba Payshanba Juma Shanba
Navajo Damóo/Damíigo [☉1] (Spanish) Damóo Biiskání
Sunday has ended
Damóo dóó Naakiską́o
Sunday +2 × sunrise
Damóo dóó Tááʼ Yiką́o
Sunday +3 × sunrise
Damóo dóó Dį́į́ʼ Yiką́o
Sunday +4 × sunrise
Ndaʼiiníísh
It ends/done for the week
Yiką́o Damóo
[upon] sunrise [it is] Sunday

Days numbered from Saturday[edit]

In Swahili, the day begins at sunrise, unlike in the Arabic and Hebrew calendars where the day starts at sunset (therefore an offset of twelve hours), and unlike in the Western world where the day starts at midnight (therefore an offset of six hours). Saturday is therefore the first day of the week, as it is the day that includes the first night of the week in Arabic.

Etymologically speaking, Swahili has two "fifth" days. The words for Saturday through Wednesday contain the Bantu-derived Swahili words for "one" through "five". The word for Thursday, Alhamisi, is of Arabic origin and means "the fifth" (day). The word for Friday, Ijumaa, is also Arabic and means (day of) "gathering" for the Friday noon prayers in Islam.

Day
Number from One
Saturday
Day One
Sunday
Day Two
Monday
Day Three
Tuesday
Day Four
Wednesday
Day Five
Thursday
Day Six
Friday
Day Seven
Swahili[24] jumamosi jumapili jumatatu jumanne jumatano alhamisi [♃2] ijumaa [♀4]

Mixing of numbering and astronomy[edit]

In the Žejane dialect of Istro-Romanian, lur (Monday) and virer (Friday) follow the Latin convention, while utorek (Tuesday), sredu (Wednesday), and četrtok (Thursday) follow the Slavic convention.[25]

Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Istro-Romanian, Žejane dialect lur utorek sredu četrtok virer simbota [♄1] dumireca [☉1]

There are several systems in the different Basque dialects.[26]

Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Standard Basque, Guipuscoan Basque astelehena ("week-first") asteartea ("week-between") asteazkena ("week-last") osteguna ("Ortzi/Sky day") ostirala (see Ortzi) larunbata ("fourth", "meeting of friends"), neskenegun ("girls' day") igandea
Biscayne Basque astelena ("week-first"), ilen ("Moon day") martitzena ("Mars day") eguaztena ("day last") eguena ("day of days", "day of light") barikua ("day without supper"), egubakotx zapatua (compare with Spanish sábado from Sabbath) domeka (from Latin Dominica [dies])

In Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino), which is mainly based on a medieval version of Spanish, the five days of Monday–Friday closely follow the Spanish names. Sunday uses the Arabic name, which is based on numbering, because a Jewish language was not likely to adapt a name based on "Lord's Day" for Sunday. As in Spanish, the Ladino name for Saturday is based on Sabbath. However, as a Jewish language—and with Saturday being the actual day of rest in the Jewish community—Ladino directly adapted the Hebrew name, Shabbat.[27]

Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino) Alhadh Lunes Martes Miércoles Juğeves Viernes Shabat [♄1]

The days of the week in the Bishnupriya Manipuri and Meitei languages originate from the Sanamahi creation myth.[28] [29] [30] [31]

Sunday
the Hill
Monday
King's Climb
Tuesday
Earth's Birth
Wednesday
Houses Built
Thursday
Horses Rode
Friday
Blood Flood
Saturday
Swords Washed
Bishnupriya Manipuri Lamboishing Ninthoapa Leipakpa Imsha Imsha Shakolsher Erei Thanksha
Meitei Nongmaiching/Langmaiching Ningthoukaba
Leibakpokpa
Yumsakeisa
Sagonsen
Eerai
Thangcha

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

Sunday[edit]

☉1 From Latin Dominicus (Dominica) or Greek Κυριακή (Christian Sabbath)
☉2 Holy Day and First-Day of the Week (Day of the Sun -> Light -> Resurrection -> Born again) (Christianity)
☉3 Resurrection (Christianity)
☉4 Bazaar Day
☉5 Market Day
☉6 No Work
☉7 Full good day
☉8 Borrowed from English week
☉9 From an Old Burmese word, not of Indic origin.

Monday[edit]

☽1 After No Work. In Russian also "Day After Week(end)" – see понедельник
☽2 After Bazaar
☽3 Head of Week
☽4 Master (as in Pir, because Muhammad was born on a Monday[citation needed])
☽5 From an Old Burmese word, not of Indic origin.

Tuesday[edit]

♂1 Thing (Assembly), of which god Tyr/Ziu was the patron.
♂2 Second day of the week (cf. Hungarian kettő "two")
♂3 Third day of the week.
♂4 From Arabic "ath-Thalaathaaʼ" (third day)

Wednesday[edit]

☿1 Mid-week or Middle
☿2 The First Fast (Christianity)

Thursday[edit]

♃1 The day between two fasts (An Dé idir dhá aoin, contracted to An Déardaoin) (Christianity)
♃2 Five (Arabic)
♃3 Fifth day of the week.
♃4 Fourth day of the week.

Friday[edit]

♀1 The Fast (Celtic) or Fasting Day (Icelandic) (Christianity)
♀2 Good Friday or Preparation (Christianity)
♀3 Jumu'ah (Muslim Sabbath)
♀4 Gathering/Assembly/Meeting (Islam) – in Malta with no Islamic connotations
♀5 Fifth day of the week

Saturday[edit]

♄1 Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath)
♄2 Wash or Bath day
♄3 Sun-eve (Eve of Sunday)
♄4 After the Gathering (Islam)
♄5 End of the Week (Arabic Sabt = Rest)
♄6 Week
♄7 Half good day

References[edit]

  1. ^ Nerone Caesare Augusto Cosso Lentuol Cossil fil. Cos. VIII idus Febr(u)arius dies solis, luna XIIIIX nun(dinae) Cumis, V (idus Februarias) nun(dinae) Pompeis. Robert Hannah, "Time in Written Spaces", in: Peter Keegan, Gareth Sears, Ray Laurence (eds.), Written Space in the Latin West, 200 BC to AD 300, A&C Black, 2013, p. 89.
  2. ^ E. G. Richards, Mapping Time, the Calendar and History, Oxford 1999. p. 269
  3. ^ Falk, Michael (19 March 1999). "Astronomical names for the days of the week". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 93 (1999–06): 122–133. Bibcode:1999JRASC..93..122F.
  4. ^ "Days of the Week Meaning and Origin". Astrologyclub.org. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  5. ^ http://www.learn-portuguese-with-rafa.com/days-of-the-week-in-portuguese.html
  6. ^ replacing a system of n "one-, three-, five-, ten-, or fifteen-day periods" (>Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 7). MS. 17 (now held at St. John's College, Oxford), dating at least from 1043, records five-week-day lists, which it names as follows: secundum Hebreos (according to the Hebrews); secundum antiquos gentiles (according to the ancient gentiles, i.e., Romans); secundum Siluestrum papam (according to Pope Sylvester I, i.e., a list derived from the apocryphal Acta Syluestri); secundum Anglos (according to the English); secundum Scottos (according to the Irish).
  7. ^ "we have a clear reflex of the Indo-European nominative singular, with a lengthened grade, giving archaic Old Irish diu; it is suggested that what we have in the Oxford list and in Cormac's Glossary is the oldest form of Old Irish dia, representing the old nominative case of the noun in adverbial usage." Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 12
  8. ^ The word scrol is glossed in Sanas Cormaic as Scroll .i. soillsi, unde est aput Scottos diu srol.i. dies solis "Srcoll, that is brightness, whence 'diu srol' among the Irish, that is Sunday".
  9. ^ Ó Cróinín has Diu luna as "represent[ing] the transitional form between Latin dies lunae and the later, Classical Old Irish dia luain ... a translation of, not a calque on, the Latin ... [It] would seem to reflect a pre-assimilation state in respect of both words," Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 13
  10. ^ "The Irish word perhaps derives from Latin forms where cases other than the genitive were used, e.g., Marte."Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 15
  11. ^ A form unique to Irish, meaning uncertain. A "very old" word for Wednesday, Mercúir (borrowed from the Latin (dies) Mercurii), does occur in early Leinster poems but Ó Cróinín is of the belief that Diu eathamon "reflects a still older Irish word for 'Wednesday.'"
  12. ^ A form unique to Irish. Ó Cróinín writes, "I suggest that it means simply 'on Thursday' ... it is temporal dat. of an n-stem (nom. sg. etham, gen. sg. ethamon – as in our Oxford list – and acc./dat. sg. ethamain)." (2003, p. 17) He furthermore suggests that etham ('arable land') "may be a noun of agency from ith (gen. sg. etho), with a meaning like corn-maker or some such thing; Diu eathamon might then be a day for sowing seed in a weekly regimen of activities such as we find in Críth Gablach." Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 17. The form Ethomuin is found in Rawlinson B 502.
  13. ^ A form unique to Irish, its meaning unclear.
  14. ^ [1] " Māori Language Commission names for the days of the week" on Te Kete Ipurangi website, viewed 7 December 2017
  15. ^ Grimm, Jacob (2004). Teutonic Mythology. Courier Corporation. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0-486-43546-6.
  16. ^ Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), s.v. vāsara.
  17. ^ Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), s.v. vāra.
  18. ^ The Chinese encyclopaedia Cihai (辞海) under the entry for "seven luminaries calendar" (七曜历/七曜曆, qī yào lì) has: "method of recording days according to the seven luminaries [七曜 qī yào]. China normally observes the following order: Sun, Mon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Seven days make one week, which is repeated in a cycle. Originated in ancient Babylon (or ancient Egypt according to one theory). Used by the Romans at the time of the 1st century AD, later transmitted to other countries. This method existed in China in the 4th century. It was also transmitted to China by Manichaeans in the 8th century from the country of Kang (康) in Central Asia" (translation after Bathrobe's Days of the Week in Chinese, Japanese & Vietnamese, plus Mongolian and Buryat (cjvlang.com)
  19. ^ Falk, Michael (19 March 1999). "Astronomical names for the days of the week". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 93 (1999–06): 122–133. arXiv:astro-ph/0307398. Bibcode:1999JRASC..93..122F. doi:10.1016/j.newast.2003.07.002.
  20. ^ Gray, 2012. The Languages of Pentecost Island.
  21. ^ Ren is "day". Numbered weekdays are used for Tuesday-Friday and sometimes Monday; the names for Saturday and Sunday come from English.
  22. ^ "Days of the Week in Chinese: Three Different Words for 'Week'". Cjvlang. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  23. ^ Richard A. Fletcher (1999). The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity. University of California Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-520-21859-8. McKenna, Stephen (1938). "Pagan Survivals in Galicia in the Sixth Century". Paganism and Pagan Survivals in Spain Up to the Fall of the Visigothic Kingdom. Catholic University of America. pp. 93–94. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  24. ^ "Swahili days, months, dates". online.fr. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007.
  25. ^ [2] Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ Astronomy and Basque Language, Henrike Knörr, Oxford VI and SEAC 99 "Astronomy and Cultural Diversity", La Laguna, June 1999. It references Alessandro Bausani, 1982, The prehistoric Basque week of three days: archaeoastronomical notes, The Bulletin of the Center for Archaeoastronomy (Maryland), v. 2, 16–22.
  27. ^ See the image in Anthony, Charlotte. "Rushing to preserve Ladino legacies". Crescent City Jewish News. Retrieved 31 May 2016. The Ladino names are in the right-hand column, written in Hebrew characters.
  28. ^ Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Amai Eelon Pukok PuYa
  29. ^ Wachetlon Pathup PuYa
  30. ^ Kham Oi Yang Oi Sekning PuYa
  31. ^ Nunglekpam, Premi Devi (25 May 2018). Short Essays on Women and Society: Manipuri Women through the Century. FSP Media Publications.

Further reading[edit]