# Q re: the names of the days of the weeks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 9, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-re-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-weeks/655222 "2013-04-09T13:37:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-re-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-weeks/655222/1 "2013-04-09T13:37:03Z")
OK, so as far as I understand it, the root origins of the names of the days of the week are: Sunday - Sun day (obvious enough) Monday - Moon day Tuesday - Tyr’s (or Tiwaz) day Wednesday - Wodan’s (Wotan / Votan / Odin) day Thursday - Thor’s day Friday - Freya’s (or Frigga’s?) day Saturday - Saturn’s day Tyr, Wodan, Thor & Freya are all norse, germanic gods (and one goddess.) But Saturn is the roman name for the classical god Cronus. My question is why is one particular day of the week named after a classical greek god, while all the other days (barring Sunday & Monday) are named after norse gods ? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-re-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-weeks/655222/2 "2013-04-09T13:47:22Z")
[Etymonline.com](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=saturday&searchmode=none) > [@](#): > > Saturday > Old English Sæterdæg, Sæternesdæg, literally “day of the planet Saturn,” from Sæternes (genitive of Sætern; see Saturn) + Old English dæg “day.” Partial loan-translation of Latin Saturni dies “Saturn’s day” (cf. Dutch zaterdag, Old Frisian saterdi, Middle Low German satersdach; Irish dia Sathuirn, Welsh dydd Sadwrn). The Latin word is itself a loan-translation of Greek kronou hemera, literally “the day of Cronus.” > > Unlike other day names, no god substitution seems to have been attempted, perhaps because the northern European pantheon lacks a clear corresponding figure to Roman Saturn. An ancient Nordic custom, however, seems to be preserved in Old Norse laugardagr, Danish lørdag, Swedish lördag “Saturday,” literally “bath day” (cf. Old Norse laug “bath”). German Samstag (Old High German sambaztag) appears to be from a Greek \*sambaton, a nasalized colloquial form of sabbaton “sabbath,” also attested in Old Church Slavonic sabota, Russian subbota, French samedi. ---
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-re-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-weeks/655222/3 "2013-04-11T02:39:15Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > OK, so as far as I understand it, the root origins of the names of the days of the week are: … The days of the week are named after the seven, easily-seen, heavenly objects that move against the stars: SUNday, MOONday, Mars (Mardi), Mercury (Mercredi), Jupiter (Jeudi), Venus (Vendredi), SATURNday ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-re-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-weeks/655222/4 "2013-04-11T02:53:33Z")
> [@bizerta](#): > > Mars (Mardi), Mercury (Mercredi), Jupiter (Jeudi), Venus (Vendredi), Makes perfect sense…if you’re in France. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-re-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-weeks/655222/5 "2013-04-11T03:53:09Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Makes perfect sense…if you’re in France. 😉 Except that _dimanche_ is named after the Lord (Jesus), and not the sun, and that _samedi_ is named after shabbat, and not Saturn. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-re-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-weeks/655222/6 "2013-04-11T04:04:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Makes perfect sense…if you’re in France. 😉 No it doesn’t. These Norse and Romance names are substitutions for political gains by upstarts , who worship false idols… You’d better change to using the real names befoer you anger the gods. the real names are ἡμέρα Ἡλίου hêméra Hêlíou ἡμέρα Σελήνης hêméra Selếnês ἡμέρα Ἄρεως hêméra Áreôs ἡμέρα Ἑρμοῦ hêméra Hermoú ἡμέρα Διός hêméra Diós ἡμέρα Ἀφροδίτης hêméra Aphrodítês ἡμέρα Κρόνου hêméra Krónou