Etymology Map
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Weekend

2 stages from English to English.

Today it means Saturday and Sunday, when many people do not work

Where does the word "weekend" come from? It comes from English week-end, adopted directly into English (1900s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
week-end
English · 1870s
"Saturday afternoon to Monday"
a Midlands and northern term; Notes and Queries in 1879 reported that in Staffordshire someone who went away from Saturday afternoon to Sunday was 'spending his week-end' there
2
Stage 2 of 2
weekend
English · 1900s
"Saturday and Sunday"
spread with the Saturday half-holiday won by factory laws such as the 1850 Factory Act; the two-day weekend became standard in the US after Henry Ford adopted a five-day week in 1926
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Weekend’s story begins in English: week-end meant “Saturday afternoon to Monday.” A Midlands and northern term; Notes and Queries in 1879 reported that in Staffordshire someone who went away from Saturday afternoon to Sunday was 'spending his week-end' there. It reached English by 1900s as weekend. Spread with the Saturday half-holiday won by factory laws such as the 1850 Factory Act; the two-day weekend became standard in the US after Henry Ford adopted a five-day week in 1926. Today, weekend means saturday and Sunday, when many people do not work.