ORIGIN OF THE NAMES OF THE DAYS

Days of the Roman Week
Roman Day	Rough Translation	Modern Day	Modern Source
Dies Saturni	Day of Saturn	Saturday	Direct passage from Latin
Dies Solis	Day of the Sun	Sunday	Direct passage from Latin
Dies Lunae	Day of the Moon	Monday	Direct passage from Latin
Dies Martis	Day of Mars	Tuesday	Originally Tiwesdaeg 'The day of Tiw', from the Norse Tysdagr.
Dies Mercurii	Day of Mercury	Wednesday	Originally Wodnesdaeg 'the day of Woden' (Odin), from Norse Odinsdagr.
Dies Jovis	Day of Jupiter	Thursday	Originally Thursdaeg 'the day of Thor', from Norse Thorsdagr.
Dies Veneris	Day of Venus	Friday	Originally Frigesdaeg 'the day of Freya', from Norse Freyjasdagr.

Sunday

The name comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning "sun's day": the name of a pagan Roman holiday. It is also called Dominica (Latin), the Day of God..

French: dimanche; Italian: domenica; Spanish: domingo (from dominica); 

German: Sonntag (from: sunday);

Monday

The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, "the moon's day". This second day was sacred to the goddess of the moon.

French: lundi; Italian: lunedi. Spanish: lunes. [from Luna, "Moon"]

German: Montag; Dutch: maandag. [from: 'moon-day']

Tuesday

This day was named after the Norse god Tyr. The Romans named this day after their war-god Mars: dies Martis.

French: mardi; Italian: martedi; Spanish: martes.

Wednesday

The day named to honor Wodan (Odin).

The Romans called it dies Mercurii, after their god Mercury.

French: mercredi; Italian: mercoledi; Spanish: miércoles. (from Mercury)

Thursday

The day named after the Norse god Thor. In the Norse languages this day is called Torsdag.

The Romans named this day dies Jovis ("Jove's Day"), after Jove or Jupiter, their most important god.

French: jeudi; Italian: giovedi; Spanish: jueves. (from Jove)

Friday

The day in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg. 

To the Romans this day was sacred to the goddess Venus, and was known as dies veneris.

French: vendredi; Italian: venerdi; Spanish: viernes. (from Venus)

Saturday

This day was called dies Saturni, "Saturn's Day", by the ancient Romans in honor of Saturn. 

French: samedi; Italian: sabato; Spanish: sábado. 

¡LET'S PLAY!  The Roman Week 

How was the Roman week different from the one we use today? 

Find out with this simple matching exercise.

ORIGIN OF THE NAMES OF THE MONTHS

Only a few names of the month were derived from Roman deities. Most simply came from the numbers of the months or -- in two cases -- in honor of Roman emperors.

January: Named after the Roman god of beginnings and endings Janus (the month Januarius).

February: The name comes either from the old-Italian god Februus or else from februa, signifying the festivals of purification celebrated in Rome during this month.

March : This is the first month of the Roman year. It is named after the Roman god of war, Mars.

April: Called Aprilis, from aperire, "to open". Possible because it is the month in which the flowers begin to open.


May: The third month of the Roman calendar. The name probably comes from Maiesta, the Roman goddess of honor and reverence.

June: The fourth month was named in honor of Juno. However, the name might also come from iuniores (young men; juniors) as opposed to maiores (old men; majors) for May, the two months being dedicated to young and old men.

July: It was the month in which Julius Caesar was born, and named Julius in his honor in 44 BCE, the year of his assassination. Also called Quintilis (fifth month).


August: Originally this month was called Sextilis (from sextus, "six"), but the name was later changed in honor of the first of the Roman emperors, Augustus.

September: The name comes from septem, "seven".


October: The name comes from octo, "eight"


November The name comes from novem, "nine".


December: The name comes from decem, "ten".

LET'S PLAY! The Roman Calendar   Match each month with its origin.

BE A GLADIATOR

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