Origins of Wednesday.
Wednesday comes from the Middle English Wednes dei, derieved from Old English language Wednes daeg, meaning the day of the English god Woden, so Wodens Day, who was a god worshipped in England until about the 7th century.
Wednes daeg is similar the Norse word, Odinsdagr Odins day, this is a translation of the Latin dies Mercurii, Mercury's day, there is a widely held association of Woden with Mercury.
In a number of European languages the word for Wednesday takes its root from the name of the Roman god Mercury, mercredi (French), mercoledì (Italian), miércoles (Spanish), miercuri (Romanian), dimecres (Catalan), dies Mercurii (Latin).
The majority of the Indian Languages use the name Buddhavar for Wednesday, this is derived from the Vedic name for Mercury, Buddha.
Russian does not use pagan names but instead uses sredá, meaning "middle," similar to the German Mittwoch.
The Greek word used for Wednesday is Tetarti, simply meaning fourth, Wednesday being the fourth day in the Greek week.
Wednesday:
- Dutch ~ Woensdag
- French ~ Mercredi
- German ~ Mittwoch
- Italian ~ Mercoledì
- Spanish ~ Miércoles
- Portugese ~ Quarta-feira
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Childrens nursery rhyme.