Wednesday

A1 Topic:Time

US /ˈwɛnz.deɪ/ UK /ˈwɛnz.deɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #3404

Meanings

1

noun
The day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday.

We have an English class every Wednesday morning.
2

adv
On Wednesday.

I'll call you Wednesday to confirm the time.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the day of the week between... wed wed.

Word family

Forms wednesdays

Simplified etymology

Wednesday means “Woden’s day,” named for Woden, or Odin, the supreme god of the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples. It was formed as part of the same weekday-naming system that associated Germanic deities with days corresponding to those named for Roman gods.

Etymology

From Middle English Wednesday, 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. See also Japane…

*dʰegʷʰ- Proto-Indo-European Wednesday Middle English *wēdnesdæġ Old English *Wōdanas dag Proto-West Germanic *Wōdinas dag Proto-West Germanic diēs Mercuriī Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Time

External links

# Wednesday

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɛnz.deɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɛnz.deɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 3404

## Meanings
1. The day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday.
2. On Wednesday.

## Examples
- We have an English class every Wednesday morning.
- I'll call you Wednesday to confirm the time.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *dʰegʷʰ-
- Root: Wednesday
- Root: *wēdnesdæġ
- Root: *Wōdanas dag
- Root: *Wōdinas dag
- Root: diēs Mercuriī

## Etymology
From Middle English Wednesday, 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. See also Japane…

## AI Etymology
Wednesday is from Middle English Wednesday, 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. Important historical forms include Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-, Middle English Wednesday, Old English *wēdnesdæġ, Proto-West Germanic *Wōdanas dag, Proto-West Germanic *Wōdinas dag, and Latin diēs Mercuriī.

## Topics
- Time

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