Wednesday
English
Etymology
From Middle English Wednesday, Wednesdai, from unattested Old English *wēdnesdæġ (“Wednesday”), synchronically an i-mutated form of attested wōdnesdæġ (itself from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdanas dag, its reflex Middle English Wodnesdei falling into disuse), from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdinas dag also attested in Old Frisian wednesdei and Middle Dutch wenesdach. In any case, a calque (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Mercuriī (“day of Mercury”) and Koine Ancient Greek ἡμέρα (hēméra, “day”) Ἑρμοῦ (Hermoû, “of Hermes”), via an association of the god Odin (“Woden”) with Mercury and Hermes.
Cognate with West Frisian woansdei (“Wednesday”), Afrikaans Woensdag (“Wednesday”), Dutch woensdag (“Wednesday”), Limburgish woonsdig (“Wednesday”), Dutch Low Saxon woonsdag (“Wednesday”), German Low German Woonsdag (“Wednesday”), dialectal German Wodenstag (“Wednesday”), Danish onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Bokmål onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Nynorsk onsdag (“Wednesday”), Swedish onsdag (“Wednesday”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwɛnzdeɪ/, /ˈwɛnzdi/, /ˈwɛdnz-/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈwɛnzdeɪ/, /ˈwɛnzdi/
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈwenzdæe/
- (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈwɛ(ʔə)nzde/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛnzdeɪ, -ɛnzdi, -ɛnzdɪ, -enzdæe, -ɛnzde
Noun
Wednesday (plural Wednesdays)
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
- Ash Wednesday
- Black Wednesday
- calendar Wednesday
- Good Wednesday
- Holy Wednesday
- Rebel Wednesday
- Sheffield Wednesday
- Spy Wednesday
- White Wednesday
- Whit Wednesday
Derived terms
Related terms
- Wednesbury
- Wednesday crucifixion theory
- Wednesdays in Mississippi
Descendants
- → Maori: Wenerei
Translations
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Translations
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Middle English
Etymology
From Old English *wēdnesdæġ, a by-form of wōdnesdæġ, from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdanas dag.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwɛ(d)n(ə)zdæi̯/
Derived terms
See also
References
- “Wednes-dai, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.