We can often hear "What day is it today?" ,"What is your favourite season?", "What month were you born in?" but we don't think about the origin of these names. I got interested in this problem and today I am ready to tell you about the origin of some English names.
Aims of my work:
- to find out the origin of English day, month and season names
- to follow their changes under the influence of other religions
Let's start with
The origin of English day names
The days of the week are based on Greek mythology. The original Greek and Roman naming has been changed over the years to match the equivalent gods of north European mythology.
Each day was connected to the planet or moon of its first hour, which resulted not only in us having seven days a week, but also the names of those days.
The first day of the week was Saturn's day (Saturday), but on their flight from the Egyptians, the Jews changed it and made Saturday their Sabbath, the last day of the week.
So following the Jewish day numbering system, with the last day of the week being Saturday, the first day of the week became:
Sunday: Day of the Sun
Latin: dies solis - Helios, god of the Sun
Saxon: sunnandaeg - god of the heat and light ball in the sky.
Sun worship has always been popular and for obvious reasons - the Sun gives us the warmth and light essential for our survival.
Monday: Day of the Moon
Latin: dies lunae - Luna or Selene goddess of the moon
Saxon: mona - god of the light ball in the night sky, and tide maker.
Tuesday: Day of Mars
Latin: dies martis - Mars or Aires, god of war
Saxon: tiwesdaeg - etymologically related to Zeus (see Thursday). Tiw lived on a high mountain and guided warriors who worshipped him. If a warrior died in battle Tiw would come down to Earth with his angels and take the dead warrior to heaven.
Wednesday: Woden's day
Latin: dies mercurii - Mercury or Hermes, Messenger of the gods
Saxon: Wodnesdaeg - Woden's day (King of the gods). Woden was the god that controlled all the other gods. His number-one mission was to gain all knowledge and wisdom. He visited all four corners of the world to gather information. Nothing could be hidden from him.
Thursday: Thor's day
Latin: dies jovis - Jove or Zeus, god of thunder
Saxon: thuresdaeg - Thor's day (god of thunder). Thunder was the sign that Thor was angrily throwing his large hammer across the sky.It's a good idea not to annoy this god.
Friday: Fria's day
Latin: dies veneris - Venus or Aphrodite, goddess of love
Saxon: frigedaeg - Freya's day (goddess of love). Frigg was a kind and beautiful Norse goddess and Odin's wife.Odin was the most powerful god. Frigg's specialty was love and marriage.
Saturday: Saturn's day
Latin: dies saturni - Saturn, god of agriculture
Saxon: Seterne's day (god of agriculture). People believed that the god named Saturn controlled the weather.Sacrificing a farm animal to Saturni would increase the chances of pleasing the god, resulting in a good crop.
The origin of English month names
At first March was considered to be the first month of the ancient Roman calendar. Then in1582 A.D Pope Gregory XIII established the Gregorian calendar with January being as the 1st month of the year. The word 'calendar' stems from calare (to call out), just as the ancient priests did when they announced a new moon. The word 'month' of course, stems from 'moon'. The month names we used were chosen to celebrate the Roman deities and emperors.
January: the Roman god Janus was the god of doorways, entrances, gateways, thresholds and beginnings, and therefore used for the opening of the New Year.
February: February used to be the last month of the Roman calendar. A Pagan festival of purification called Februa was on the15th day of the month and so this month came to be known as Februa's month.
March: The Roman god Mars was the god of war and guardian of the state. This was the first month of the ancient Roman calendar.
April: was considered a sacred Roman month for the goddess Venus. The name 'April' is probably from Apru, an Etruscan borrowing of Greek Aphrodite, their fertility goddess. Alternatively, it may stem from the Latin aperire (to open), as so many buds and blossoms open in this month.
May: This is from Maia who was a Roman goddess of earth, honour and reverence. She was Vulcan's wife, Mercury's mother and Atlas's daughter
June:The chief goddness Juno was Jupiter's wife and the queen of the heavens and gods. Later June became a popular name for girls.
July: was named after the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC to deify and immortalize him. Gaius Julius Caesar was born in this month, which was formerly Quintilis (the fifth) month of the ancient Roman calendar.
August: was named after Augustus Caesar in 8 BC. He was the adopted heir of Julius Caesar .A synonym for the adjective 'august' is 'venerable', and the emperor was known as Venerable Caesar.
The next four months are just based on the Roman numeral system. Since in the ancient Roman the year used to begin in March, so September through to December were months 7 to 10. A numbering system is still used in many cultures today for the whole year.
September: comes from the Latin "septem", meaning 'seven'.
October: comes from the Latin "octo", meaning 'eight'. This is the month when people start thinking of Christmas and New Year parties. These days are always the same weekday as 2nd October.
November: comes from the Latin "novem", meaning 'nine'.
December: comes from the Latin "decem", meaning 'ten'.
The origin of English season names
Winter: No mythical god ... just cold! It is the season of wind and white snow, hence the name 'winter'.
Spring: is the time when new plants spring up after a harsh winter.
Summer: is from Old Norse "sumarsdag".It is the time for lots of sunshine.
Autumn: is the time for reaping and harvesting the main crops of the year. The old English name for this season of "harvest" was replaced by the Latin autumnus in the 16th Century. Also know as "Fall" in America, as this is the time the temperature falls and leaves fall from the trees.
Results: names of English days, months and seasons originally came from Greek and Roman mythology in the flow of time they were influenced by north European mythology