Ancient Words

Friday derives from Old English Frīgedæg, meaning “day of Frigg”—the Norse goddess of love and marriage, wife of Odin. The Romans dedicated this day to Venus (dies Veneris), and the Germanic peoples mapped their goddess Frigg onto the Roman one. The connection between Friday and love survives in the phrase “Thank God it is Friday,” […]

Thursday comes from Old English Þūnresdæg, meaning “day of Þunor”—the Anglo-Saxon god of thunder, equivalent to the Norse Thor. The Romans called this day dies Iovis (day of Jupiter), and the Germanic peoples, in their custom, substituted their own sky-god for the Roman one. The result, after a thousand years of linguistic erosion, is Thursday.

Wednesday is the worst offender in the English week—and English speakers know it. It is the only day of the week whose spelling defeats native speakers. Children in British and American schools are taught to sound it out as Wed-nes-day—a deliberate mispronunciation—just to remember how to spell it. If your word requires a special mnemonic

Tuesday comes from Old English Tīwesdæg, meaning “day of Tīw.” Tīw was a Germanic god of war, equivalent to the Norse Týr and the Roman Mars. Týr is most famous in Norse mythology for losing his right hand to the wolf Fenrir—a brave act, certainly, but not one that has any relevance to a modern

Monday comes from Old English Mōnandæg, literally “day of the moon.” It traces back to the Latin dies lunae, which the Germanic tribes translated directly into their own tongue. This is charming in a mythological sense—the moon, the night, the start of the working week—but it raises a question: does knowing that Monday means “moon