Why do we say wednesday

Furthermore, most Brits actually do pronounce the d in Wednesday. The name of an ancient flying reptile, this might just be the weirdest spelling in the entire English language. This word is actually of Greek origin, coming from pteron wing and daktylos finger. So why the references to wings and fingers? Go figure! What are your favorite bizarrely spelled words in the English language?

Real-time suggestions, wherever you write. Grammar What Are Modal Verbs? Writing, grammar, and communication tips for your inbox. The gods Woden also known as Odin and Mercury have been associated since Scandinavian and Roman cultures crossed paths. Woden also created the first man and woman from an ash tree and an alder. Mercury was the messenger to the gods, along with being the patron of science, the arts, travelers, and athletes. Today, he is one of the most widely recognized gods.

Starting around , Wednesday began being referred to as hump day. Visit our article to get more insight on the meaning and uses of Wednesday.

You may recognise a similarity here with the name of the famous Norse god Thor. This may be more than coincidence. Vikings arrived in England in the ninth century, bringing their own very similar gods with them. Friday is the only weekday named for a female deity, Frig, who is hardly mentioned anywhere else in early English.

That is why Frig was chosen to pair with the Roman deity Venus, who was likewise associated with love and sex, and was commemorated in the Latin name for Friday. The concept of the week, that is, a cycle of seven numbered or named days with one of them usually Sunday or Monday fixed as the first, was originally probably associated with the Jewish calendar.

This was complicated by the fact that early medieval Europe inherited its idea of the week from imperial Rome, via the Christian church. We find day names similar to English in related European languages, like Dutch, German, and all the Scandinavian or Norse languages. Gods with comparable names, like Tyr, Othinn, Thor and Frigg, were certainly known to the Scandinavians and gave their names to weekdays in Scandinavian languages compare Modern Danish tisdag , onsdag , torsdag , fredag.