Why is Friday called Friday?

Yeah! The most desired day of the week is undoubtedly Friday. This is the day people all over the world repeat the acronym TGIF as a mantra. Everybody seems to love this day. But, have you ever wondered why is this day called Friday in English? If the word “day” refers to, of course, “day”, what does “Fri” refer to? Keep reading this tip to learn that.

The name Friday in Old English was Frīġedæġ, which means “the day of Frige”. Frige, who has other names (Frijjō, Frigg-Frija, Frigg), was the goddess of love in old Germanic religions. She was, so to speak, Wōdanaz’s wife. Wōdanaz, is also known as Odin or Woden. He lends his name to “Wednesday” (the day of Wōdanaz). The funny thing is that in Old English “Wednesday” was “Wōdnesdæg” and in Middle English was “Wednesdei”.

Back to Friday, then. In Latin, Friday is known as “dies veneris” or “day of Venus”. In Roman mythology, Venus, is also the goddess of love. See how one name is related to the other? In both traditions the day known as Friday was related to the goddess of love. That’s why people love Friday.

In Romance languages (languages which share Latin origins) the name Friday is related to the goddess of love as well: vendredi (French), venerdi (Italian), viernes (Spanish), vineri (Romanian). Portuguese is the only Romance language which gives Friday a different name. In Portuguese, we say “sexta-feira”, which refers to the sixth day of the liturgical celebration in Roman Catholic Church. That is so because according to the Catholic tradition it is not allowed to consecrate days to other gods and goddesses.

Anyway, the good thing is that today is Friday. Not only that, but you also practiced your English reading a little bit about the origin of the name Friday in English. The question now is: Could you understand the text? Share your opinion and let’s keep learning much more. Have a wonderful Frīġedæġ, you all! Take care!