hebdomas

Latin

Alternative forms

• ebdomas
• hebdomada

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἑβδομάς (hebdomás, “seven (noun), a week, a period of seven years”) (genitive ἑβδομάδος (hebdomádos)), from ἕβδομος (hébdomos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈheb.do.mas/, [ˈhɛbd̪ɔmäs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈeb.do.mas/, [ˈɛbd̪omäs]

Noun

hebdomas f (genitive hebdomadis); third declension

1. the number seven
2. seven days; a week

   Synonym: septimāna (Late Latin)

3. the seventh day

Usage notes

• The usual word for "seven" as a numeral in Latin is septem.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	hebdomas	hebdomadēs
Genitive	hebdomadis	hebdomadum
Dative	hebdomadī	hebdomadibus
Accusative	hebdomadem	hebdomadēs
Ablative	hebdomade	hebdomadibus
Vocative	hebdomas	hebdomadēs

Derived terms

• hebdomadālis
• hebdomadārius

Descendants

See also hebdomada.

• Dalmatian:
  • jedma
• Italo-Romance:
  • Old Italian: edima
    • Corsican: èdima
• North Italian:
  • Emilian: edema (obsolete)
  • Ladin: ena
  • Lombard: dema
  • Romansch: emna, jamna, eanda, eamda, emda, eivna
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Old Catalan: doma
• ⇒ Ecclesiastical Latin: media hebdomas (“middle of the week”)
  • Dalmatian: misedma
  • Italian: mezzèdima (Tuscan, 'Wednesday')
  • Romansch: mesemna
  • → Old High German: mittawehha (calque) (see there for further descendants)
• Borrowings:
  • → English: hebdomad

References

• Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911) “hebdomas”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 302
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “hebdomas”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 4: G H I, page 395

Further reading

• “hebdomas”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “hebdomas”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• hebdomas in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.