Wednesday
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English Wednesday, Wednesdai, 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.
Cognate with West Frisian woansdei (“Wednesday”), Afrikaans Woensdag (“Wednesday”), Dutch woensdag (“Wednesday”), Limburgish woonsdig (“Wednesday”), Dutch Low Saxon woonsdag (“Wednesday”), German Low German Woonsdag (“Wednesday”), dialectal German Wodenstag (“Wednesday”), Danish onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Bokmål onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Nynorsk onsdag (“Wednesday”), Swedish onsdag (“Wednesday”).
See also Japanese 水曜日 (Mercury's day).
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwɛnzdeɪ/, /ˈwɛnzdi/, (dated) /ˈwɛdn̩zdeɪ/
Audio (UK): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈwɛnzdeɪ/, /ˈwɛnzdi/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (General American); /ˈwɛdn̩zdeɪ/: (file) - (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈwenzdæe/
- (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈwɛ(ʔə)nzde/
- (Geordie) IPA(key): /ˈwɛdⁿnzdeɪ/
- (Indic) IPA(key): /ˈwɛ(ɖ)n(ə)sˌdeɪ/
- Rhymes: -ɛnzdeɪ, -ɛnzdi, -ɛnzdɪ, -enzdæe, -ɛnzde
Noun
editWednesday (plural Wednesdays)
- 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.
- 2025 April 16, Devan Cole and Katelyn Polantz, “Boasberg finds ‘probable cause exists’ to hold Trump administration in contempt for violating orders on deportation flights”, in CNN[1]:
- US District Judge James Boasberg ruled Wednesday that “probable cause exists” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders in mid-March halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Synonyms
editSymbols
editHypernyms
editHyponyms
editDerived terms
editDescendants
edit- → Maori: Wenerei
Translations
edit
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Proper noun
editWednesday
- (UK, soccer) Nickname of Sheffield Wednesday of the Football League.
Adverb
editWednesday (not comparable)
Translations
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See also
editMiddle English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Old English *wēdnesdæġ, a by-form of wōdnesdæġ, from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdanas dag.
Pronunciation
editProper noun
editWednesday
Derived terms
editDescendants
editSee also
edit- days of the week: weke-dayes (appendix): Sunnenday · Monday · Tewesday · Wednesday · Thursday · Friday · Saterday [edit]
References
edit- “Wednes-dai, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰegʷʰ-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzdeɪ
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzdeɪ/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzdi
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzdi/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzdɪ
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzdɪ/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/enzdæe
- Rhymes:English/enzdæe/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzde
- Rhymes:English/ɛnzde/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- British English
- en:Football (soccer)
- English adverbs
- English uncomparable adverbs
- American English
- Canadian English
- en:Days of the week
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English proper nouns
- enm:Days of the week