Diane M. Kimura

Four days of the week are named after deities from Norse mythology.

Sunday and Monday are named after the sun and moon, respectively.

Tuesday is named after the god Tyr, Wednesday after Odin, Thursday after Thor, and the Norse goddesses Frigg and Freyja share Friday. The Old Norse word for Saturday is Laugardagr, which means "hot water day” and can also mean "day of bathing.” In Old Norse, "dagr” means day.

Mánadagr
The Nordic days of the week start with the moon and end with the sun. Mánadagr is named after Mani, the personification of the moon in Norse mythology.

In Spanish, Monday is also the moon’s day, called Lunes.

Tysdagr
Tuesday is the Norse god Tyr’s day. In Old English, Tyr is written as "Tiw.” Anglo-Saxons called this day Tiwesdaeg, which eventually led to the modern Tuesday.

Tyr is the Norse equivalent of the Roman god of war, Mars.

In Spanish, Tuesday is still named after Mars (Martes).

Odinsdagr
Wednesday is Woden’s day, which is the Old English version of Odin. The Roman god Mercury is Odin’s counterpart.

In Spanish, the word for Wednesday comes from Mercury (Miércoles).

Thórsdagr
Thursday is Thor’s day. The god of thunder is the Norse counterpart of the Roman deity Jupiter.

In Spanish, the word for Thursday (jueves) is derived from Jupiter’s name (Jove).

Frjádagr
There is some discussion over which Norse goddess is the counterpart of Venus. Many scholars believe Friday was named after Æsir goddess Frigg, wife of Odin. But Venus is the Roman goddess of love, which is why some argue that Vanir goddess Freyja is the namesake of Friday.

Like the other weekdays, Spanish Viernes comes from Venus, a Roman goddess.

Laugardagr
Saturday is named after the Roman god Saturn, but the Old Norse equivalent, "Laugardagr,” doesn’t follow the pattern of the rest of the days.

In Old Norse, "dagr” means day, and "Laugar” means hot water. Since these days of the week were influenced in part by Christianity, this name for Saturday in Old Norse makes sense. Since Sunday was the Sabbath, it was common for people in the early centuries to bathe the day before Church.

Sunnudagr
Sunday is named after Sol, who was the personification of the sun in the Roman and Norse myths. In Old Norse, Sol was also called Sunna. This led to the Old English Sunnandaeg, which means "Sunna’s Day.” Eventually, Sunna’s Day became Sunday.

In Spanish, Saturday and Sunday also split away from the standard naming convention. Sábado (Saturday) comes from Sabbath or the day of rest. Domingo (Sunday) means God’s day.

Tim adds:

Very interesting. I've often wondered why the old Norse gods were used in the days of the week and why the Church didn't expunge them after the Christianization of Britain and northern Europe. That would have seemed a logical thing to do but they didn't do it.

The Russians have a completely different system. They start out with Vosschrissenia, or Ressurection Day (or day of Christ) which is also used for Easter, then simply number the days first, second, third, etc. Ponedelnick, Vtornick, etc. You would think the Russians would have expunged the name for Sunday though and they didn't do it, surprisingly enough, even though the Bolsheviks expunged most other aspects of Christianity.

It's interesting to consider what sticks and what doesn't in this world. Culture is a hodge-podge of old and new and how that mix is derived is something I don't think anyone can explain.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 10:08 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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