Wednesday

Meaning

Noun

The fourth day of the week in many religious traditions, and the third day of the week in systems using the ISO 8601 norm; it follows Tuesday and precedes Thursday.

Name

Nickname for Sheffield Wednesday of the Football League.

Adv

On Wednesday.

Synonyms

Midweek

Wed

day

wed

W.

Translations

mercredi

mercoledì

Mittwoch

miércoles

woensdag

quarta-feira

dimecres

Τετάρτη

dies Mercurii

çarşamba

الأربعاء

dimècres

Çarşamba

çarşem

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwɛnzdeɪ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: Wednesday

Inherited from Old English: *wēdnesdæġ

Cognate with Middle English: Wodnesdei

Cognate with Old Frisian: wednesdei

Cognate with Middle Dutch: wenesdach

Cognate with Ancient Greek: ἡμέρα

Cognate with Western Frisian: woansdei

Cognate with Afrikaans: Woensdag

Cognate with Dutch: woensdag

Cognate with Limburgish: woonsdig

Cognate with German: Wodenstag

Cognate with Danish: onsdag

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: onsdag

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: onsdag

Cognate with Swedish: onsdag

In summary

From Middle English Wednesday, 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. See also Japanese 水曜日 (“Mercury's day”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots Wadensday (“Wednesday”), Yola Wennesdei (“Wednesday”), West Frisian woansdei (“Wednesday”), Afrikaans Woensdag (“Wednesday”), Central Franconian Jodesdaach (“Wednesday”), Dutch, West Flemish woensdag (“Wednesday”), Dutch Low Saxon woensdag, woonsdag, wonsdag (“Wednesday”), German Wodenstag, Wotanstag (“Wednesday”), Low German Goonsdag, Woonsdag (“Wednesday”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish onsdag (“Wednesday”), Faroese ónsdagur (“Wednesday”), Icelandic óðinsdagur (“Wednesday”).