tuesday

Where does the word "tuesday" come from? It comes from Latin dies Martis, passing through Old English before entering English (1200s).

Tuesday’s story begins in Latin: dies Martis meant “Mars's day.” 'day of Mars'; Tacitus's Germania (AD 98) says the Germans worship gods he calls Mercury, Hercules and Mars. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old English as Tīwesdæg. Mars was matched with the Germanic war god Tiw (Norse Týr), so his day became Tiw's day. It reached English by 1200s as Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday, the eve of Lent, is Pancake Day; the pancake race at Olney in Buckinghamshire claims to go back to 1445. Today, tuesday means the day of the week after Monday.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical dies Martis "Mars's day", 'day of Mars'; Tacitus's Germania (AD 98) says the Germans worship gods he calls Mercury, Hercules and Mars.
2. Stage 2 · Old English · medieval Tīwesdæg "Tiw's day", Mars was matched with the Germanic war god Tiw (Norse Týr), so his day became Tiw's day.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s Tuesday "third day of the week", Shrove Tuesday, the eve of Lent, is Pancake Day; the pancake race at Olney in Buckinghamshire claims to go back to 1445.