Bondary secondary school
Author: Tyapkina Polina,
9b form
Teacher: Petrova E.A.
2013
Actuality
Each day of the week was dedicated to a god
or goddess and it is from their names that we
have drawn our modern names. This is true in
English as well as in the romance languages.
The reason the words sound different is
because the cultures that spoke those
different languages worshiped different gods.
Object of research: days of the week in the
English language.
Subject of research: origin of the week in the
English language.
Methods of research: work with documents,
statistics, analysis, comparison.
AIM of the research: to clear up where the days
of the week came from.
TASKS:
1. Find the information about the origin of the
days of the week.
2. Explain the English idioms with days of the
week.
3. Compare the origin of the days of the week
in different languages.
Hypothesis
If the names of the days of the week came from
the Gods’ names it means the Englishmen paid
a great attention to each day.
Etymology of the days of the week
The etymology (word history) of most of the
days of the week are linked to Roman
mythology. The Romans saw a connection
between their gods and the changing face of
the nighttime sky, so it became natural to use
their gods' names for the planets — the ones
they were able to track in the sky were
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Sunday
The first day, Sunday, has obvious religious connotations.
While the Germanic and Northern European languages kept
to the more pagan origins, making it “the day of the sun,” the
spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire and into the
other Latin countries led to a different meaning. People called
the first day of the week Sunday, the Sabbath, or day of rest.
Monday
Monday is an abbreviation of Moon day, sacred to the wife of
the Sun. Ancient tribes called the goddess of the moon Diana,
and built temples for her. It was believed that Phoebus Apollo,
the Sun god, drove his flaming chariot across the sky by day,
while his wife Diana drove her silver chariot through the sky at
night. On her feast day, round cakes were made, with candles
stuck around them.
Tuesday
Tuesday is named after Tiw, the Saxon god of
battle, while Norsemen called him Tyr. Once
the gods wanted to capture a terrible wolf
spirit Fenris, with a strange chain made by the
spirits of the mountains. Fenris agreed to be
bound, on condition that a god put his hand in
his mouth. Tiw was the only one brave enough
to volunteer, and put his hand into the wolf's
mouth. Fenris was bound, but enraged at
being captured, he bit off the god's hand.
Wednesday
Woden, (Odin in Norse) was the
greatest of the Teutonic gods, and
gave his name to Wednesday. He lived
in a palace built entirely of gold and
silver, called Valhalla. Two ravens
stood on his shoulders, and when he
wanted news, he sent them to fly
around the world, and report what
they saw and heard.
Thursday
Thursday was derived from Thor, the
strongest of the Teutonic gods. He
had a hammer that no man could lift,
a pair of iron gloves, and a belt which
doubled his great strength when it
was fastened.
Friday
Frigg was the wife of
Wooden and mother of
Thor. A day was named after
her so that she would not
be jealous that days were
named after her husband
and son, and Friday came
into existence. Like Venus,
she was the goddess of love.
Saturday
Saturday comes from the Roman god Saturn, in whose honor
the Romans used to feast and drink.
The etymology of the names of the days of the
weeks gives us insights into the political and
social history of our nations. The southern
europeans and northern europeans have
different conventions for naming the days of
the week due to the differing influences of the
Romans, Saxon and Norsemen and later the
Catholic and Protestant churches.
Days of the week in the idioms
Blue Monday - тяжелый понедельник (первый рабочий день
после воскресенья)
Good/Holy/Spy Wednesday - рел. среда на страстной неделе,
среда перед Пасхой, день совершения предательства
Иудой
Maundy Thursday - рел. великий четверг (на страстной
неделе)
Good Friday - рел. Страстная, Великая пятница
Egg-Saturday - суббота перед масленицей
Sunday's child - ребёнок, рождённый в воскресенье;
удачливый человек
girl Friday - ассистентка в офисе, с невысоким служебным положением и
разнообразными обязанностями;
Friday face - постное лицо, постная мина
Friday fare - постная пища
Hospital Saturday - день сбора пожертвований на содержание больниц
a month of Sundays - очень длительное время
when two Sundays come together - когда два воскресенья встретятся, т.е.
никогда
Sunday face - лицемерный вид
Sunday driver - неумелый, медлительный водитель
Sunday man - человек, бывающий в обществе только по воскресеньям
Sunday painter - художник-любитель; художник-примитивист
Sunday best / Sunday clothes - лучшая (новая, праздничная) одежда для
особых случаев
Days of the week
in different languages
Rumanian
Luni - Monday
Marti - Tuesday
Miercuri - Wednesday
Joi - Thursday
Vineri - Friday
Sâmbata - Saturday
Duminica - Sunday
Sambata, sabato etc.,
relying to Saturn, it sounds
rather similar to "sabbath",
as propbably all of us
knows that the jeuwish holy
day is Saturday.
The bible says no one is
allowed to work on the 7th
day.
Portuguese
Segunda Feira - Monday
Terça Feira - Tuesday
Quarta Feira - Wednesday
Quinta Feira - Thursday
Sexta Feira - Friday
Sabado - Saturday
Domingo - Sunday
All week days, except
Saturday and Sunday have a
commercial significance.
Segunda Feira - Second
Market
Terça Feira - Third Market ...
and so on.
Sabado is similar to
"sabbath"
Danish
mandag - Monday
tirsdag - Tuesday
onsdag - Wednesday
torsdag - Thursday
fredag - Friday
lordag - Saturday
sondag - Sunday
DAY of the
Week
Name Origin
(Roman/
Greek)
Sunday
Sun's-day
Monday
Moon's-day
Tuesday
Mars'-day
Wednesday
Attribute
Name Origin
(Norse)
Attribute
Helios: god of the sun prior to replacement by
Apollo in late Greek and Roman mythology;
Apollo: twin of Artemis; god of music, prophesy,
poetry, healing, archery
Selene: goddess of the moon prior to replacement
by Artemis in late Greek and Roman mythology;
Diana (Artemis):7: twin of Apollo; goddess of the
hunt and the moon.
Mars (Ares): god of war, battle rage and initiation;
son of Zeus/Hera
Sun's-day
no known equivalent
Moon's-day
no known equivalent
Tiw's-day
Tiw (Tyr): god of battle
and victory
Mercury's-day
Mercury (Hermes): god of commerce; Messenger
of the gods; Trickster god; son of Zeus/Maia
Woden's-day
Thursday
Jupiter's
(Jove's)-day
Jupiter/Jove (Zeus): son of Kronos/Rhea; Supreme
god, Lord of Heaven (Olympus) and mortals
Thor's-day
Woden/Wotan (Odin):
Father and ruler of the
gods and mortals; god of
war, learning, poetry and
the dead
Thor: god of thunder and
sky, and good crops; son of
Odin and Frigg
Friday
Venus's-day
Venus (Aphrodite): goddess of sexual desire, love,
beauty and procreation
Frigg's
(Friia's)-day
(Friia) wife of Odin; great
mother of the gods;
goddess of married love
Saturday
Saturn's-day
Saturn (Kronos): god of fertility, agriculture, time;
ruler of the Titans; father of first generation of
Greek gods
Saturn's-day
no known equivalent
Conclusion
The mythological origins of the days are forgotten, but the stories remain popular. The etymology
of the names of the days of the weeks gives us insights into the political and social history of
our nations. The southern europeans and northern europeans have different conventions for
naming the days of the week due to the differing influences of the Romans, Saxon and
Norsemen and later the Catholic and Protestant churches.
The days assigned by the Romans to the Sun, Moon and Saturn were retained for the
corresponding days of the week in English (Sunday, Monday and Saturday respectively).
The other weekday names in English are derived from Anglo-Saxon words for the Gods of
Teutonic mythology.
In the West the old pagan names persisted. They still form the basis of the modern names in
Western European languages, which feature a mixture of Christian and pagan elements.
English and other Germanic languages largely retain the sun, the moon, and the names of the
Germanic gods.
Italian, French, and Spanish adopt Judaeo-Christian religious terminology for Saturday (the
Sabbath) and Sunday (the Lord's Day), but retain the Roman planetary names for the days of
the week.
Only Portuguese has done away with the planetary names by substituting numbered days for the
weekdays.
Informational resources
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http://www.pokypatel.ru/upload/iblock/675/675dcf4447f2706a4c923d72c723c31c.jpg
http://ddpozwy746ijz.cloudfront.net/b5/31/i33894837._szw530h275_.jpg
http://annerbe.ucoz.com/_ph/6/807223791.jpg
http://rusich.moy.su/publ/obo_vsem/proiskhozhdenie_nazvanij_dnej_nedeli_i_mesjacev/28
-1-0-2237
http://www.liveastrology.org/dni_nedeli.htm
http://retroman.ru/dni_nedeli.html
http://education.newarchaeology.com/days.php
http://www.cjvlang.com/Dow/dow1.html