Of all the German days of the week, why did Wednesday get a censored name?
February 4, 2010 6:08 AM Subscribe
Why is only one of the German days of the week Bowdlerized? Every day (Donnerstag, Samstag, Freitag, etc) is a reference to the old pagan religions, but for some reason Wodenstag got the axe, and is now the bland "Mittwochs." I suspect it's Christian influences, but if so, why did Freya and Thor escape censorship?
Maybe "midweek" was a useful thing to call it at the time? Like "weekend" is now.
(Ironically, the English equivalent is the only one of ours that *isn't* bowdlerized: "hump day")
posted by DU at 6:20 AM on February 4, 2010
(Ironically, the English equivalent is the only one of ours that *isn't* bowdlerized: "hump day")
posted by DU at 6:20 AM on February 4, 2010
German Wikipedia says the usage goes all the way back to the 10th century, and notes that Icelandic and several Slavic languages do the same thing, although in Low German/Platt there appear to be words similar to English 'Wednesday' out there.
posted by gimonca at 6:43 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by gimonca at 6:43 AM on February 4, 2010
Best answer: Actually, Wednesday isn't the only non-pagan weekday name. The Southern German Saturday ("Samstag") derives from the Latin "Sabbatum" (i.e. Sabbath). In Northern Germany, Saturday is "Sonnabend", i.e. the evening before Sunday.
Mittwoch is generally believed to have been introduced through Christianisation in the 10th Century (Old High German: "mittiwehha"). What's interesting about it is that it isn't actually the middle of the week, unless you start counting the Judaic and Christian way with Sunday.
According to German Wikipedia (not a good source, I know) the Romans had imported the Babylonian naming traditions. When the Germanic tribes incorporated these traditions in the 4th Century, they replaced the names of the Roman Gods with Germanic equivalents.
Why only Saturn and Wotan got axed I do not know. I shrug it off as a failed branding experiment.
posted by Omnomnom at 6:49 AM on February 4, 2010
Mittwoch is generally believed to have been introduced through Christianisation in the 10th Century (Old High German: "mittiwehha"). What's interesting about it is that it isn't actually the middle of the week, unless you start counting the Judaic and Christian way with Sunday.
According to German Wikipedia (not a good source, I know) the Romans had imported the Babylonian naming traditions. When the Germanic tribes incorporated these traditions in the 4th Century, they replaced the names of the Roman Gods with Germanic equivalents.
Why only Saturn and Wotan got axed I do not know. I shrug it off as a failed branding experiment.
posted by Omnomnom at 6:49 AM on February 4, 2010
There may be something here: Zur Wortgeographie der Wochentagsnamen im Deutschen und in anderen europäischen Sprachen, sadly, the paper is behind a paywall, if it's worth 10 euros to you. You may have access to look further through a local library or university without having to purchase on your own.
posted by gimonca at 6:54 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by gimonca at 6:54 AM on February 4, 2010
You might also like this PDF material from the Uni Potsdam according to which it is "Mittawecha" in Old High German and "Middweke" in Middle High German. Are you bored yet?
posted by Omnomnom at 6:55 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by Omnomnom at 6:55 AM on February 4, 2010
Wednesday was the middle of the week because the week began on Sunday. This was the case until somewhere in the area of the 1970s. Now Monday is the official start of the week in Germany.
posted by beyond_pink at 6:56 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by beyond_pink at 6:56 AM on February 4, 2010
Heh. Reminds me of a conversation I had with a Dutch colleague. He was fascinated to learn that English weekday names were mostly eponyms for gods, and proudly informed me that in Dutch they were not. Thors-day, for instance, in Dutch is Thunder-day.
I reminded him that Thor is the god of thunder.
His shirt deflated a bit.
Heh.
posted by IAmBroom at 8:50 AM on February 4, 2010 [4 favorites]
I reminded him that Thor is the god of thunder.
His shirt deflated a bit.
Heh.
posted by IAmBroom at 8:50 AM on February 4, 2010 [4 favorites]
According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, the German use of Mittwoch (not "Mittwochs") is due to influence from Gothic, who in turn were influenced by Greek missionaries to use a non-astrological naming system. I wish they would cite their sources, however.
posted by dunkadunc at 9:01 AM on February 4, 2010
posted by dunkadunc at 9:01 AM on February 4, 2010
gimonca: Icelandic and several Slavic languages do the same thing
In Iceland this was changed by Episcopal decree in the 12th Century by Bishop Jón Ögmundsson, so in Icelandic the old pagan names were changed for more prosaic names (Tuesday is Thirdday, Thursday is Fifthday, Friday is Fastday, Saturday is Bathday and Wednesday is Midweekday), so that's a slightly different situation.
posted by Kattullus at 9:19 AM on February 4, 2010
In Iceland this was changed by Episcopal decree in the 12th Century by Bishop Jón Ögmundsson, so in Icelandic the old pagan names were changed for more prosaic names (Tuesday is Thirdday, Thursday is Fifthday, Friday is Fastday, Saturday is Bathday and Wednesday is Midweekday), so that's a slightly different situation.
posted by Kattullus at 9:19 AM on February 4, 2010
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posted by grobstein at 6:10 AM on February 4, 2010