Word from Mythology: Wednesday

The foreign word in English for today is WEDNESDAY, which comes to us from the name of the Norse god, Woden, also known as Odin. The Old English form of the word is wodnesdaeg, "Woden's day."

This use of the god's name is based on the Latin name for Wednesday, which is dies Mercurii in Latin (compare Spanish miércoles, French mercredi, and Italian mercoledì).

The equivalence between Odin and Mercury goes back to the writings of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus.

The image below shows Odin with his ravens Hugin and Munin, Thought and Mind.

Word from Mythology: Friday

Today's word from mythology is Friday, is from the name of the Germanic goddess of married love, Frigg, wife of Odin. The Old English form of the word is frigedaeg, Frigga's day.

The Latin name for the day is dies Veneris, the day of Venus, goddess of love (compare venerdì in Italian, vendredi in French, and viernes in Spanish).

The image below shows Frigg riding a chariot pulled by rams in an illustration by Arthur Rackham for Richard Wagner's Die Walküre.