Wednesday
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Wednesday is the day of the week in between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. However, in countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday first" convention, where Sunday is the first day of the week, it is the fourth day of the week.
In English, the name is derived from Old English Script error: No such module "Lang". and Middle English Script error: No such module "Lang"., 'day of Woden', reflecting the religion practiced by the Anglo-Saxons, the English equivalent to the Norse god Odin. In many Romance languages, such as the French Script error: No such module "Lang"., Spanish Script error: No such module "Lang". or Italian Script error: No such module "Lang"., the day's name is a calque of Latin Script error: No such module "Lang". 'day of Mercury'.
Wednesday is in the middle of the common Western five-day workweek that starts on Monday and finishes on Friday.
Etymology
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The name Wednesday continues Middle English Wednesdei. Old English had wōdnesdæg (“Woden’s day”), which would be expected to continue as Wodnesday. Old Frisian also attests a form wednesdei. By the Middle English period, the spelling Wednesday developed through analogical and orthographic changes rather than direct phonological inheritance.[1]
The name is a calque of the Latin Script error: No such module "Lang". 'day of Mercury', reflecting the fact that the Germanic god Woden (Wodanaz or Odin) during the Roman era was interpreted as "Germanic Mercury".
The Latin name dates to the late 2nd or early 3rd century. It is a calque of Greek Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang".), a term first attested, together with the system of naming the seven weekdays after the seven classical planets, in the Anthologiarum by Vettius Valens (c. AD 170).[2][3]
The Latin name is reflected directly in the weekday name in most modern Romance languages: Script error: No such module "Lang". (Sardinian), Script error: No such module "Lang". (French), Script error: No such module "Lang". (Italian), Script error: No such module "Lang". (Spanish), Script error: No such module "Lang". (Romanian), Script error: No such module "Lang". (Catalan), Script error: No such module "Lang". or Script error: No such module "Lang". (Corsican), Script error: No such module "Lang". (Venetian). In Welsh it is Script error: No such module "Lang"., meaning 'Mercury's Day'.
The Dutch name for the day, Script error: No such module "Lang"., has the same etymology as English Wednesday; it comes from Middle Dutch Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "Lang". ('Wodan's day').
The German name for the day, Script error: No such module "Lang". (literally: 'mid-week'), replaced the former name Script error: No such module "Lang". ('Wodan's day') in the 10th century. Similarly, the Yiddish word for Wednesday is Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang".), meaning and sounding a lot like the German word it came from.
Most Slavic languages follow this pattern and use derivations of 'the middle' (Belarusian Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., Bulgarian Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., Croatian Script error: No such module "Lang"., Czech Script error: No such module "Lang"., Macedonian Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., Polish Script error: No such module "Lang"., Russian Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., Serbian Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". or Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., Slovak Script error: No such module "Lang"., Slovene Script error: No such module "Lang"., Ukrainian Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang".). The Finnish name is Script error: No such module "Lang". ('middle of the week'), as is the Icelandic name: Script error: No such module "Lang"., and the Faroese name: Script error: No such module "Lang". ('mid-week day'). Some dialects of Faroese have Script error: No such module "Lang"., though, which shares etymology with Wednesday. Danish, Norwegian, Swedish Script error: No such module "Lang"., (Script error: No such module "Lang". meaning Script error: No such module "Lang". 'Odin's day').
In Japanese, the word for Wednesday is Template:Nihongo krt meaning 'water day' and is associated with Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang".): Mercury (the planet), literally meaning 'water star'. Similarly, in Korean the word for Wednesday is Script error: No such module "Lang".; Script error: No such module "lang"., also meaning 'water day'.
In most of the languages of India, the word for Wednesday is Script error: No such module "Lang". — Script error: No such module "Lang". meaning 'day' and Budha being the planet Mercury.
In Armenian (Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang".), Georgian (Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang".), Turkish (Script error: No such module "Lang".), and Tajik (Script error: No such module "Lang".) languages the word literally means 'four (days) from Saturday' originating from Persian (Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang".).
Portuguese uses the word Script error: No such module "Lang"., meaning 'fourth day', while in Greek the word is Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang".) meaning simply 'fourth'. Similarly, Arabic Script error: No such module "Lang". means 'fourth', Hebrew Script error: No such module "Lang". means 'fourth', and Persian Script error: No such module "Lang". means 'fourth day'. Yet the name for the day in Estonian Script error: No such module "Lang"., Lithuanian Script error: No such module "Lang"., and Latvian Script error: No such module "Lang". means 'third day' while in Mandarin Chinese Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang".), means 'day three', as Sunday is unnumbered.
Religious observances
The Creation narrative in the Hebrew Bible places the creation of the Sun and Moon on "the fourth day" of the divine workweek.
Quakers traditionally referred to Wednesday as "Fourth Day" to avoid the pagan associations with the name "Wednesday",[4] or in keeping with the practice of treating each day as equally divine.
The Eastern Orthodox Church observes Wednesday (as well as Friday) as a fast day throughout the year (with the exception of several fast-free periods during the year). Fasting on Wednesday and Fridays entails abstinence from meat or animal products (i.e., four-footed animals), poultry and dairy products. Unless a feast day occurs on a Wednesday, the Orthodox also abstain from fish, from using oil in their cooking and from alcoholic beverages (there is some debate over whether abstention from oil involves all cooking oil or only olive oil).
For the Orthodox, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year commemorate the betrayal of Jesus (Wednesday) and the Crucifixion of Christ (Friday). There are hymns in the Octoekhos which reflect this liturgically. These include special Theotokia (hymns to the Mother of God) called Script error: No such module "Lang". ('Cross-Theotokia'). The dismissal at the end of services on Wednesday begins with these words: "May Christ our true God, through the power of the precious and life-giving cross...."
In Irish and Scottish Gaelic, the name for Wednesday also refers to fasting, as it is Script error: No such module "Lang". in Irish Gaelic and Script error: No such module "Lang". in Scottish Gaelic, which comes from Script error: No such module "Lang"., meaning 'first', and Script error: No such module "Lang"., meaning 'fasting', which combined means 'first day of fasting'.[5]
In American culture many Catholic and Protestant churches schedule study or prayer meetings on Wednesday nights. The sports calendar in many American public schools reflects this, reserving Mondays and Thursdays for girls' games and Tuesdays and Fridays for boys' games while generally avoiding events on Wednesday evening.
In the Catholic devotion of the Holy Rosary, the glorious mysteries are meditated on Wednesday and also Sunday throughout the year.
Wednesday is the day of the week devoted by the Catholic tradition to Saint Joseph.
In Hinduism, Budha is the god of Mercury, Wednesday, and of merchants and merchandise. Krishna, Vithoba, and Ganesha are also worshipped on Wednesday.
Cultural usage
According to the Thai solar calendar, the color associated with Wednesday is green.[6]
In the folk rhyme Monday's Child, "Wednesday's child is full of woe". In the rhyme Solomon Grundy, Grundy was "married on Wednesday". In Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, the disagreeable nature of the weather is attributed to it being "Winds-Day" (a play on Wednesday). In Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar Wednesday is the day when the sun shines grey.[full citation needed] Wednesday Friday Addams is a member of the fictional family The Addams Family. Her name is derived from the idea that Wednesday's child is full of woe.
Wednesday sometimes appears as a character's name in literary works. These include Thursday's fictions by Richard James Allen, Wednesday Next from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde and Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods. In the 1945 John Steinbeck novel Sweet Thursday, the titular day is preceded by "Lousy Wednesday".
Wednesday is sometimes informally referred to as "hump day" in North America, a reference to the fact that Wednesday is the middle day—or "hump"—of a typical work week.[7] Lillördag, or "little Saturday", is a Nordic tradition of turning Wednesday evening into a small weekend-like celebration.[8] Humpday is also a name of a 2009 film.
In Poland, Wednesday night is often referred by young people as "time of vodka", after song by Bartosz Walaszek "Środowa noc to wódy czas"
Astrology
The astrological sign of the planet Mercury, ☿, represents Wednesday—Script error: No such module "Lang". to the Romans, it had similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the Italian Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang". means 'day'), the French Script error: No such module "Lang"., and the Spanish Script error: No such module "Lang".. In English, this became "Woden's Day", since the Roman god Mercury was identified by Woden in Northern Europe and it is especially aligned by the astrological signs of Gemini and Virgo.[2]
Named days
- Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the Western Christian tradition, occurs forty-six days before Easter (forty, not counting Sundays).
- Black Wednesday, the day of a financial crisis in the United Kingdom
- Holy Wednesday, sometimes called Spy Wednesday in allusion to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, is the Wednesday immediately preceding Easter.
- Red Wednesday, the Yezidi festival celebrated in Iraq[9]
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Wednesday, n. & adv.", Oxford English Dictionary (3 ed.), Oxford University Press, 2024-10-10, doi:10.1093/OED/9209520053, retrieved 2026-04-05Template:Limited access
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Neugebauer, O. (1983), "Mathematical Methods in Ancient Astronomy", Astronomy and History Selected Essays, New York, NY: Springer New York, pp. 99–127, ISBN 978-0-387-90844-1, retrieved 2026-04-05
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rüpke, Jörg (2011-03-21). The Roman Calendar from Numa to Constantine. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-65508-5.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Guide to Quaker Calendar Names". Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Retrieved 30 March 2017.
In the 20th Century, many Friends began accepting use of the common date names, feeling that any pagan meaning has been forgotten. The numerical names continue to be used, however, in many documents and more formal situations."
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Days of the Week in Irish". Bitesizeirishgaelic.com. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Did you know that in Thailand, there's an auspicous color for every…". Bangkok, Thailand: Duke Language School. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Definition of hump day in English". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Woolsey, Barbara (2 February 2025). "Lillördag: Sweden's workers de-stress with 'Little Saturday'". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rodziewicz, Artur (19 December 2016). "And the Pearl Became an Egg: The Yezidi Red Wednesday and Its Cosmogonic Background". Iran and the Caucasus. 20 (3–4): 347–367. doi:10.1163/1573384X-20160306.
External links
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