wednesday

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

Wednesday’s story begins in Latin: dies Mercurii meant “Mercury's day.” 'day of Mercury', the messenger god, still kept in French mercredi and Italian mercoledì. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old English as Wōdnesdæg. Mercury was matched with Woden (Norse Odin), chief of the Germanic gods; Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies traced their kings back to Woden. It reached English by 1200s as Wednesday. The spelling still keeps Woden's d, though it fell silent in speech. Today, wednesday means the day of the week after Tuesday.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical dies Mercurii "Mercury's day", 'day of Mercury', the messenger god, still kept in French mercredi and Italian mercoledì.
2. Stage 2 · Old English · medieval Wōdnesdæg "Woden's day", Mercury was matched with Woden (Norse Odin), chief of the Germanic gods; Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies traced their kings back to Woden.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s Wednesday "fourth day of the week", the spelling still keeps Woden's d, though it fell silent in speech.