Bondary secondary school. Author: Tyapkina Polina, 9b form Teacher: Petrova E.A.

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1 Bondary secondary school Author: Tyapkina Polina, 9b form Teacher: Petrova E.A. 2013

2 Actuality Each day of the week was dedicated to a god or goddess and it is from their names that we have drawn our modern names. This is true in English as well as in the romance languages. The reason the words sound different is because the cultures that spoke those different languages worshiped different gods.

3 Object of research: days of the week in the English language. Subject of research: origin of the week in the English language. Methods of research: work with documents, statistics, analysis, comparison.

4 AIM of the research: to clear up where the days of the week came from. TASKS: 1. Find the information about the origin of the days of the week. 2. Explain the English idioms with days of the week. 3. Compare the origin of the days of the week in different languages.

5 Hypothesis If the names of the days of the week came from the Gods names it means the Englishmen paid a great attention to each day.

6 Etymology of the days of the week The etymology (word history) of most of the days of the week are linked to Roman mythology. The Romans saw a connection between their gods and the changing face of the nighttime sky, so it became natural to use their gods' names for the planets the ones they were able to track in the sky were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

7 Sunday The first day, Sunday, has obvious religious connotations. While the Germanic and Northern European languages kept to the more pagan origins, making it the day of the sun, the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire and into the other Latin countries led to a different meaning. People called the first day of the week Sunday, the Sabbath, or day of rest.

8 Monday Monday is an abbreviation of Moon day, sacred to the wife of the Sun. Ancient tribes called the goddess of the moon Diana, and built temples for her. It was believed that Phoebus Apollo, the Sun god, drove his flaming chariot across the sky by day, while his wife Diana drove her silver chariot through the sky at night. On her feast day, round cakes were made, with candles stuck around them.

9 Tuesday Tuesday is named after Tiw, the Saxon god of battle, while Norsemen called him Tyr. Once the gods wanted to capture a terrible wolf spirit Fenris, with a strange chain made by the spirits of the mountains. Fenris agreed to be bound, on condition that a god put his hand in his mouth. Tiw was the only one brave enough to volunteer, and put his hand into the wolf's mouth. Fenris was bound, but enraged at being captured, he bit off the god's hand.

10 Wednesday Woden, (Odin in Norse) was the greatest of the Teutonic gods, and gave his name to Wednesday. He lived in a palace built entirely of gold and silver, called Valhalla. Two ravens stood on his shoulders, and when he wanted news, he sent them to fly around the world, and report what they saw and heard.

11 Thursday Thursday was derived from Thor, the strongest of the Teutonic gods. He had a hammer that no man could lift, a pair of iron gloves, and a belt which doubled his great strength when it was fastened.

12 Friday Frigg was the wife of Wooden and mother of Thor. A day was named after her so that she would not be jealous that days were named after her husband and son, and Friday came into existence. Like Venus, she was the goddess of love.

13 Saturday Saturday comes from the Roman god Saturn, in whose honor the Romans used to feast and drink.

14 The etymology of the names of the days of the weeks gives us insights into the political and social history of our nations. The southern europeans and northern europeans have different conventions for naming the days of the week due to the differing influences of the Romans, Saxon and Norsemen and later the Catholic and Protestant churches.

15 Days of the week in the idioms Blue Monday - тяжелый понедельник (первый рабочий день после воскресенья) Good/Holy/Spy Wednesday - рел. среда на страстной неделе, среда перед Пасхой, день совершения предательства Иудой Maundy Thursday - рел. великий четверг (на страстной неделе) Good Friday - рел. Страстная, Великая пятница Egg-Saturday - суббота перед масленицей Sunday's child - ребёнок, рождённый в воскресенье; удачливый человек

16 girl Friday - ассистентка в офисе, с невысоким служебным положением и разнообразными обязанностями; Friday face - постное лицо, постная мина Friday fare - постная пища Hospital Saturday - день сбора пожертвований на содержание больниц a month of Sundays - очень длительное время when two Sundays come together - когда два воскресенья встретятся, т.е. никогда Sunday face - лицемерный вид Sunday driver - неумелый, медлительный водитель Sunday man - человек, бывающий в обществе только по воскресеньям Sunday painter - художник-любитель; художник-примитивист Sunday best / Sunday clothes - лучшая (новая, праздничная) одежда для особых случаев

17 Days of the week in different languages

18 Rumanian Luni - Monday Marti - Tuesday Miercuri - Wednesday Joi - Thursday Vineri - Friday Sâmbata - Saturday Duminica - Sunday Sambata, sabato etc., relying to Saturn, it sounds rather similar to "sabbath", as propbably all of us knows that the jeuwish holy day is Saturday. The bible says no one is allowed to work on the 7th day.

19 Portuguese Segunda Feira - Monday Terça Feira - Tuesday Quarta Feira - Wednesday Quinta Feira - Thursday Sexta Feira - Friday Sabado - Saturday Domingo - Sunday All week days, except Saturday and Sunday have a commercial significance. Segunda Feira - Second Market Terça Feira - Third Market... and so on. Sabado is similar to "sabbath"

20 Danish mandag - Monday tirsdag - Tuesday onsdag - Wednesday torsdag - Thursday fredag - Friday lordag - Saturday sondag - Sunday

21 DAY of the Week Name Origin (Roman/ Greek) Attribute Sunday Sun's-day Helios: god of the sun prior to replacement by Apollo in late Greek and Roman mythology; Apollo: twin of Artemis; god of music, prophesy, poetry, healing, archery Monday Moon's-day Selene: goddess of the moon prior to replacement by Artemis in late Greek and Roman mythology; Diana (Artemis):7: twin of Apollo; goddess of the hunt and the moon. Tuesday Mars'-day Mars (Ares): god of war, battle rage and initiation; son of Zeus/Hera Wednesday Mercury's-day Mercury (Hermes): god of commerce; Messenger of the gods; Trickster god; son of Zeus/Maia Thursday Jupiter's (Jove's)-day Jupiter/Jove (Zeus): son of Kronos/Rhea; Supreme god, Lord of Heaven (Olympus) and mortals Friday Venus's-day Venus (Aphrodite): goddess of sexual desire, love, beauty and procreation Saturday Saturn's-day Saturn (Kronos): god of fertility, agriculture, time; ruler of the Titans; father of first generation of Greek gods Name Origin (Norse) Sun's-day Moon's-day Tiw's-day Woden's-day Thor's-day Frigg's (Friia's)-day Saturn's-day Attribute no known equivalent no known equivalent Tiw (Tyr): god of battle and victory Woden/Wotan (Odin): Father and ruler of the gods and mortals; god of war, learning, poetry and the dead Thor: god of thunder and sky, and good crops; son of Odin and Frigg (Friia) wife of Odin; great mother of the gods; goddess of married love no known equivalent

22 Conclusion The mythological origins of the days are forgotten, but the stories remain popular. The etymology of the names of the days of the weeks gives us insights into the political and social history of our nations. The southern europeans and northern europeans have different conventions for naming the days of the week due to the differing influences of the Romans, Saxon and Norsemen and later the Catholic and Protestant churches. The days assigned by the Romans to the Sun, Moon and Saturn were retained for the corresponding days of the week in English (Sunday, Monday and Saturday respectively). The other weekday names in English are derived from Anglo-Saxon words for the Gods of Teutonic mythology. In the West the old pagan names persisted. They still form the basis of the modern names in Western European languages, which feature a mixture of Christian and pagan elements. English and other Germanic languages largely retain the sun, the moon, and the names of the Germanic gods. Italian, French, and Spanish adopt Judaeo-Christian religious terminology for Saturday (the Sabbath) and Sunday (the Lord's Day), but retain the Roman planetary names for the days of the week. Only Portuguese has done away with the planetary names by substituting numbered days for the weekdays.

23 Informational resources