Day

Etymological map of day and other terms in several different languages
How long is a day?

Friday

Etymological map of Friday in several different languages

The fifth day

For most languages represented in the map, the first day of the week is Monday, and thus Friday is the fifith day: for example, in Russian (пятница, pyatnitsa) and Ukrainian (п’ятниця, pyatnytsya). However, Friday is referred to as the sixth day of the week in languages that start the week from Sunday: sexta-feira in Portuguese and Galician.

The goddesses

In most West European languages, the name for Friday derives from goddesses associated with love, beauty, and fertility: Venus and Frigg. The last is the Norse goddess of marriage and motherhood, in Germanic languages like Norwegian (fredag) and Danish (fredag). Venus, in Romance languages like French (vendredi), Italian (venerdì), and Spanish (viernes), was the Roman goddess and also the name of the second planet of the solar system.

Weekly rituals

Religious rituals have shaped the way people behave through the week, dividing them into regular and holy days. Many languages took the name from Arabic اَلْجُمْعَة‎ (al-jumʕa) meaning that is the day to congregate or gather since Muslims hold every Friday the “Friday payer”. Other languages borrowed from Ancient Greek παρασκευή (paraskeuḗ) which means “preparation” before Sabbath. In the North Fridays is related to “fasting” because The Catholic Church historically observed this day as special.

Weekend

The etymology map of the word weekend in different languages
Neverending weeks

Seasons

Spring

Etymological map of the word "spring" in several different languages
A very singular word

Summer

Etymological map of the word summer in several different languages
Hot and burning season

Autumn or fall

Etymological map of the words "autumn or fall" in several different languages
The fall of the leaves

Winter

Etymological map of the word "winter" in several different languages
Snow season

Recommended Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *