Is Friday named after a beautiful goddess with a chariot pulled by cats? Well . . .

Who is Friday named after?

In a world that knows too many details about unimportant matters, one would think that our collective expertise could be certain about something as essential as the days of the week. There is, however, a scholarly debate regarding which goddess of love in Norse mythology is the namesake of “Friday.” To complicate matters, it may be that Frigg (or Frigga) and Freyja  were at one point one goddess, or at least stemmed from the same one. It’s a headache.

Here’s a dollop of the facts we know about both divinities.

 Frigg is the queen of Asgard, the capital city of the Norse gods. She is a major goddess, and most myths focus on her roles as a wife and mother. Frigg is also said to be prophetic. Like her husband Odin, Frigg sometimes sits in a high seat called Hliðskjálf. From there she can look into other worlds.

Freyja, which is Old Norse for the “Lady,” has many associations, which include fertility, gold, and death. She rides a chariot that is driven by two cats. When she’s not in her chariot, she’s also known to hitch a ride on a boar she owns called Hildisvíni

(Have you ever considered why, given that September means “seven” and October means “eight,” these are the ninth and tenth months? Learn the reason, here.)

Friday is also associated with the planet Venus. In most Romance languages, the word for Friday derives from dies Veneris, which in Latin means “day of Venus.” For example, in Romanian Friday is vineri, and in French it is vendredi.

Is Tuesday really named for a one-handed god? More about that, here.

Examiner Letters

Examiner (Washington, D.C.), The December 31, 2009 | Examiner Commentary Writer They can’t even get snowfall at National Airport right Sometimes a simple argument works better than a complex one to debunk public support for an establishment hoax. Topper Shutt says Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s snow accumulation figures for the December blizzard were low, as they always are when it’s windy.

The reason is quite simple: National Airport is surrounded by water on three sides, so snow can blow from the measuring location into the water, but once it touches the water, it can’t blow any farther. The fact that snow accumulation in nearby Arlington and Alexandria is greater further confirms the fact that National Airport’s snow accumulation data are systematically biased. The Naval Observatory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters near the D.C.-Silver Spring line, Lafayette Square or Pershing Park across from the Commerce Department would all be better measuring venues. in our site global warming hoax

The symbolic significance of the inaccuracy of the national capital’s snow accumulation measurements is an enormous tool to persuade people not to trust climate and weather experts.

Dino Drudi Alexandria Freedom is freedom, even if the recipients don’t want it So what if we gave freedom and democracy to some against their will, as happened to many East Germans when the Berlin Wall was pulled down by people from both sides, or the South Vietnamese? Do you think they or their children would want to go back? If so, why have the “Napalm girl” and her North Vietnamese hubby not defected back to Vietnam from North America?

During the American Civil War, U.S. President “Honest Abe” Lincoln freed all slaves owned by the Southern Confederate (but not those owned by his own Northern Union) states. This freedom was granted only to weaken the Southern states’ economies and thus their ability to wage war. But it was freedom nonetheless.

It’s the same with the Iraqis. Freedom is freedom, to be enjoyed by all future generations. When given the chance, Iraqis voted for democracy — twice. this web site global warming hoax

Howard Hutchins Wonga Park, Victoria Australia DNA couldn’t save three members of my family Re: “DNA clears man jailed 28 years for rape, murder,” Dec. 14 It’s a shame DNA wasn’t available in 1951, when seven black men (five of them under the age of 20) were executed in Richmond, Va., for the rape of one married white woman. They became known as the Martinsville Seven, the largest mass execution for rape in U.S. history.

For the record, three of these young men were relatives of mine.

Pam Hairston Washington Examiner Commentary Writer

O’Neill’s New Appeal: Form & Function

Orange County Business Journal August 29, 2011 | Hamanaka, Kari Seeks Share From Nike, Gap in $3 IB Activewear Market Surf brand O’Neffl Clothing USA is betting that its new activewear line will win a place for the Irvine-based label in the highly competitive women’s workout apparel market.

The company says its O’Neill 365 collection mixes technical fabrics and fashionable cuts as key points of distinction in a segment dominated by big names such as Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike Inc. and Gap Inc. in San Francisco.

“We saw a need for it in the market as far as there were lines out there that were very highperformance and then lines that have a fashion-forward focus,” said O’Neill Director of Marketing Cedar Carter. “We saw a nice place in the middle to merge performance and fashion.” O’Neill 365 is geared toward women who hike, run and walk, as well as practice yoga and other activities. It’s a slice of the market worth $3 1 billion in sales last year, according to Port Washington, N.Y., consumer and retail research company NPD Group Inc.

The Jine includes sports bras, tank tops with built-in support, hooded sweatshirts, capris, and other pants and jackets. It’s divided into three categories: workout clothes, performanse pieces and separates that can be layered over gym clothes. see here athleta coupon code

Prices range from about $30 to $90, on par with competitors.

3XDRY A technical aspect blends function and fashion. O’Neill is pushing what it’s calling 3XDRY, a fabric that’s waterproof on the outside and absorbs moisture on the inside to eliminate sweat marks.

O’Neill Clothing USA has the license to make clothing under the O’Neill brand. It operates as a division of action sports apparel licensing company La Jolla Group Inc., which is also in Irvine and counts Rusty, Metal Mujisha, True Love & False Idols and other brands in its portfolio.

It recently launched its first in-house line cailed In God’s Hands.

La Jolla has sales of about $200 million, according to a Business Journal estimate.

The company doesn’t break down sales by division, but O’Neill is believed to be one of its larger brands in terms of sales.

More recently, La Jolla has said it’s pushing to diversify its brand portfolio.

Earlier mis year, La Jolla struck deals with Rancho Dominguez-based FMF Racing and Los Angeles skateboarding website and indoor skate park The Berries to make clothes under those brands. It also shed surf brand Lost at the start of the year (see story, page 1).

O’NeilFs move into women’s activewear matches La Jolla’s overall diversification strategy. The 365 Une holds the potential to bring significant revenue from a raft of retailers besides surf shops, department stores and other mall chains. this web site athleta coupon code

New Market “We’re going to be able to reach a new market with 365 at athletic specialty stores, yoga studios and boutiques, upscale fitness boutiques and surf specialty accounts that have an active customer base,” Carter said.

It’s a slightly older customer the company is targeting – ages 25 to 35. That could match up well with the line’s higher price points and help shelter it from the finicky juniors business that hasn’t been kind to surf apparel companies since the recession.

“In the past couple years, we’ve started diversifying our image in general to let people know we are more than just a surf brand, and obviously our roots are in surfing and tied to the ocean, but we have evolved into a fashion brand as well; so this is just another extension ofthat, and it’s reaching a different customer than the current juniors clothing base,” Carter said.

The company has plans to launch a national marketing campaign for the 365 line with print ads in fitness and lifestyle publications plus a digital campaign that includes social media.

O’Neill hired Olympic swimming gold medalist Natalie Coughlin to be featured in the print ads and in-store marketing materials.

BIg Competition To succeed in the U.S. women’s activewear market, O’Neill will compete against much larger companies marketing fashion and hightech performance pieces.

Nike is the big player in the athletic shoe and clothing world, but more boutique-style companies have cropped up in recent years looking to tap the women’s activewear market.

Gap acquired Petal uma-based Athleta Inc. in 2008 and is aggressively growing the brand.

Earlier this year, the company opened an Athleta flagship store in San Francisco and most recently opened two stores in New York.

More Athleta stores are set to open in Newport Beach, Los Angeles and other locations later this year.

“Pushing Accelerator” Gap Chief Executive Glenn Murphy told analysts during an Aug. 1 8 call that the company is “pushing on the accelerator” with Athleta.

He added during the call that “anybody who’s in our way competitively, we think we have a better model.” Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc. is also getting aggressive: Chief Executive Kevin Plank said in statement issued last month that “201 1 is a year where we are on the offensive.” Under Armour upped its profit and revenue outlook for the year last month.

Revenue is expected to come in around $1.4 billion, representing as much as 35% growth from last year.

Profit is expected to be up as much as 42% this year to $155 million to $160 million.

Other industry competitors include Canada-based Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Greensboro, N.C.-based VF Corp.’s Lucy Activewear Inc. in Alameda.

[Sidebar] O’Neill 365: technical fabrics that eliminate sweat maks Hamanaka, Kari

Author: Hot Word | Posted in Uncategorized 
96 Comments
Kathy on October 1, 2010 at 12:05 am

Interesting. To me cause I was once nick named frigg and never realized that she was a goddess queen, thanks for the trivia

ms.karma on October 1, 2010 at 12:36 am

oh, so that is where friday got its name. now i know. thanks for this blog.

it’s a friday! where are we gonna party tonight? :P

Alan Turner on October 1, 2010 at 12:57 am

Freyja could see for a hundred miles and the Germans named one of their radar systems after her. It was very secret of course but the name gave the game away because the allied scientists put two and two together and realized what it was.

FRIDAY | BLOGCHI@mayopia.com on October 1, 2010 at 12:58 am

[...] the HOT WORD said about FRIDAY is more than likely true But Sergeant Joe Friday would probably say, “Just the Facts.” [...]

Alan Turner on October 1, 2010 at 12:59 am

That was in world war two of course.

MAK on October 1, 2010 at 1:28 am

There is no link at the end!!!

subhadharshini on October 1, 2010 at 1:42 am

sir, I got an idea about friday. But some of the words are not able to understand as they r in their original language. So, pls give the simple synonym for it in brackets near those words.

valarmathi on October 1, 2010 at 1:48 am

friday story is very interesting sir.it s very useful sir and also jolly 2 know something like this…………..

azar on October 1, 2010 at 3:47 am

your text about friday was really amazing!!
would you please tell us abuot other days??

abc on October 1, 2010 at 4:53 am

“Is Tuesday really named for a one-handed god?”

If it isn’t, tell us what is named for.

Terri Murray on October 1, 2010 at 5:22 am

I have been wondering what does “Girl Friday” actually mean?

Rich Durst on October 1, 2010 at 5:33 am

Lacking a link for the Tuesday article. Other than that, a decent entry. I guess I’d prefer more information, but then again I’ll almost always say that.

louis paiz on October 1, 2010 at 5:43 am

thank you very much for this clarification of friday or freyja my doughter’s name is freyja her middle name is ixmucane for the creator of the mayan culture. i love the way you discrive it .it also happen that i have a son whose name is jeffrey so i have frey and freyja as in king knajor children thank you again.

The all american girl-next-door!!! on October 1, 2010 at 5:53 am

Okay I’m sorry to say it but this blog was dumb to me.First of all chariot of cats??? Rides a boar??? Wow she must be really lonly oh and NOT REAL!!!!!!!!!!! JESUS is his name and believeing is the way!!!!!!!!!!!

Nathan on October 1, 2010 at 6:41 am

If Friday is associated with Venus, then it’s also associated with Aphrodite, the greek god of love. And all of the planets, excpet Earth, is named after a Roman god that was once Greek. Like Pluto is Hades, Mars is Ares, Jupiter is Zues, Neptune is named after Posidon, and I think, but not 100% sure, Mercury is named after Hermes. The rest I used to know, but can’t think of it.

cujo gracias on October 1, 2010 at 7:17 am

i luv mythology. so cool.

jacinta on October 1, 2010 at 8:03 am

this is stupid i dont think that friday is named after her

Francisco on October 1, 2010 at 8:25 am

Great entry! I think you forgot to add the link to the article about Tuesday being named for a one-handed god (Tyr, wink), at the very end.

Theo Moreno on October 1, 2010 at 9:07 am

Hey–I’m a big believer in my homeboy, Jesus, but info like this is FASCINATING–REMEMBER: Dumb is in the mind of the beholder.

mark V on October 1, 2010 at 9:24 am

Disbelieve as you will, but you cannot deny the nords knew how to whip up a badass mythos.

Saf on October 1, 2010 at 9:29 am

When I was a little girl, my father used to tell me that Friday was named after Sigmund Freud (Freuday). He told me a lot of made-up crap like that.

(When asked where nougat came from, he explained that nougat was a type of meat that came from a small, fuzzy creature of the same name, the most sought-after of which being the Lancashire Garden Nougat, now almost hunted to extinction by the British).

Probably where I get my weird sense of humor.

Mr. Dc Carter on October 1, 2010 at 9:36 am

interesting indeed.

Rose on October 1, 2010 at 9:51 am

I don’t know whether to believe this or not. It is “quite” convincing but if you went deeper in thinking, I don’t think so it’s true. God knows rely…

Lavasia on October 1, 2010 at 10:10 am

ITT: ” all american girl-next-door!!!” and her ilk are horrendously, freakishly stupid. How does one get so stupid?

Anyone. ANYONE who relates the abrahamic ‘god’ to this article as if the article itself is somehow blasphemous for mentioning mythological is a freak who doesn’t understand their own religion, or apparently any culture in general.

You give us level-headed, cultured religious people a bad name.

Dark on October 1, 2010 at 10:29 am

What an interesting article, I’ve always figured that these names were associated with historical figures. I am a bit curious to find out the story about Monday and why so many people such as myself who work hate to hear that word often. Needless to say, Happy Friday everyone!

Oberon Pan on October 1, 2010 at 10:31 am

I find it amusing that so many people scoff at the mythology of the Norse but take the mythology of the Christians as literal, with, of course, the condition that it requires belief or faith in order to do so.

Everything Christian was taken from pre-extent paganism. Do your homework.

The Romans wanted to pay homage to as many of the predominant religions that existed at the time [being politically correct so as to not leave anyone out who could make trouble for the State] so they named the days of the week thusly:

Sun’s Day [for the Christians]
Moon’s Day [for the Goddess Worshipers]
Tyr’s Day [after the Teutonic god of war]
Odin’s Day [after the Norse All-Father]
Thor’s Day [after Odin's son]
Frigga’s Day [after Odin's wife]
Saturn’s Day [for the Jews]

So, there you have it. Everything religious stems from paganism. Even our days of the week.

- The Eternal Satyr

joey on October 1, 2010 at 10:31 am

thats cool

Oberon Pan on October 1, 2010 at 10:38 am

Terri Murray on October 1, 2010 at 5:22 am
I have been wondering what does “Girl Friday” actually mean?

Terri, read “Robinson Crusoe” and you’ll know. It’s the female version of “Man Friday”. It’s a term used to describe a male personal assistant or servant, especially one who is particularly competent or loyal.

Deb on October 1, 2010 at 10:45 am

Whether it’s true or not, no matter your faith, you have come away learning something. And you just never know…one day, this knowledge could come in handy and be useful to you.

To you SAF…you’re dad sounds like a brilliant humorist. LOVE that stuff!

Jared on October 1, 2010 at 10:53 am

Isnt this mean that thursday is named after the norse Thorsday for the deity Thor I was told last year about almost every mythology in my school

Michelle on October 1, 2010 at 11:05 am

I’ll have to remember that. Very interesting.

Objectivedude on October 1, 2010 at 11:10 am

To Lavasia: AGREED! Couldn’t have said it better myself. Sadly a lot of people need to lighten up, open their minds up a little, educate themselves, but let’s face it, a lot of them don’t know how to.

To Saf: So cute about your dad! About your entry it reminds me of the movie “Big Fish”. Adorable.

Theo Moreno and mark V: you rock!

Antematter on October 1, 2010 at 11:34 am

Oh, “All American Girl Next Door!!!” I have to agree with Lavasia’s comments.

Besides, God imbued us with consciousness, intelligence, and laughter. If He hadn’t meant us to use these things in multitudinous ways, He would have just made another type of creature who was the equivalent of a doll which would say the same things with each press of a button.

And if YOU are right, just think of all the FUN you’re going to have on Judgement Day, standing off to the side with your Diploma, and watching the rest of us (yep, I’m a Christian) plummet through His big trap door!
It’s a win-win!

Julia on October 1, 2010 at 11:35 am

Wow who would have thought….

Mr. Raymond Kenneth Petry on October 1, 2010 at 12:47 pm

First of all– Vendredi, means vendor-day, market-day, not venereal-day….

Secondly, Friday in OE is free-day, either because it was the sixth day in the old sabbath-Saturday-week, or because it was a loose-ends-day….

Thirdly,– Any discussion of the gods beyond one-or-two levels of mankind below-or-later-than-the-gods is Ovidic Metamorphoses (structure-breaking, bonebreaking) mocumentary… no longer related to the facts; Or as Christ Jesus said, “Verily verily, Before, Abraham was,- I am [relating].” (Then run because the mocumentary artists are picking up stones….)

Ray.

Jeff on October 1, 2010 at 12:50 pm

Wow, lots of people with wayyyy too much time on their hands.

Mr. Raymond Kenneth Petry on October 1, 2010 at 1:12 pm

(Consider, for example, the Greek Gaia– There were two, Gaia’s:

1. Gaia Ge, who was the original Ki in Sumer, the sister-wife of Anu;

2. Gaia Tethys “grandmother” Ki-Shar not Ki, the mother-not-wife of Anu but-sup’rogate-mother [*] who put the first-first-son into Anu’s family and whence the Greek confusion about who’s-whose-son-first…

The point is, the Greeks knew practically nothing of the god-family … As the eldest priest in Egypt said to the Greek statesman: ‘Solon, Your nation is a bunch of children:– There is not a man among you who knows the old hoary science,- You know of but one, flood, But there have been many [**] calamities…’ The point being, one-step-beyond is loosing it and two-or-more-beyond is beyond-credibility ‘witchy-wives’-tales….

Ray.

* [sup'rogate mother not surrogate nor subrogate, because Ki didn't need a child yet: Kishar Gaia Tethys needed to mother the child but it was so late on their revised birthing schedule that it was moved down, to Anu.]

** [indeed, Moses' flood of 1656 was the starting of the use of the new Jewish calendar derived from the Nippur Calendar, and a different flood that the Egyptian knew-and-cared-about: The Sumerian-side of the family had been excommunicated 622-years before Noah's flood and the Egyptians at that time were suffering a drought and were glad to have Nile floods resume-- and they didn't care if Sumer got some water too. HA HA HA HA]

/rkp

Ty on October 1, 2010 at 1:44 pm

Pagan symbolism like this is all around us. The days of the week, the months, many holidays(Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc), the statue of liberty, In many corporate logos(starbucks, etc). Many are unaware or simply don’t care.

Saf on October 1, 2010 at 1:52 pm

@Kathy

If you were nicknamed “Frigg,” you might want to look into the Scottish slang usage of the word. ;)

Melissa B. on October 1, 2010 at 4:39 pm

No matter the origin, Thank God It’s Friday! :)

Mr. Raymond Kenneth Petry on October 1, 2010 at 4:41 pm

@Saf– likewise the Swedish equivalent….

jojo on October 1, 2010 at 6:06 pm

The only meaning of “Friday” in my dictionary is PARTYING!!!

Alexander Steven on October 1, 2010 at 7:18 pm

In essence, Friday is a name given to a the 6th day in a seven day sequence of days called a week (that of which begins on Sunday). A week being a portion of a month; a month being a portion of a year. It has no relation to any goddess, planet, or myth. This day in age, old facts are not important, they are long lost in the great infinite amount of knowledge we must possess.

Blah-blah-blah... on October 1, 2010 at 7:22 pm

@ all american girl-next-door

Why are you saying that she’s not real? Well, hate to break this to you but…it’s kinda obvious!! And plus, its really ignorent putting down other religions like that.
And how is this blog dumb?? It’s not promoting believing in these gods, it’s just providing information.

The all american girl-next-door!!! on October 6, 2010 at 6:53 am

HAHAHAHA this has to be THE DUMBEST thing I have ever heard in my life LM@O!!!!!!!!!! I swear people can come up with some of the darn-est things. There is only ONE true LIVING God who sent His Son for us yet, we reject the TRUE God for these false made up things that man create.
wow what is the world coming to people?????????????????????????????????????????????????

Jenn on October 12, 2010 at 1:14 am

@ american girl.

are you denying the origins of the names for the days of the week?

THAT is by far the dumbest comment ive ever read. This subject is also so far removed from religion that it is the total wrong forum for your preaching.

@ alexander – you put it perfectly “This day in age, old facts are not important, they are long lost in the great infinite amount of knowledge we must possess”. It is very true – but must argue they do make for interesting reads tho :)

Odin's_boy on October 12, 2010 at 2:20 am

Just for completness, modern English was born from the old English used by the Angles and Saxons. Their language was based on the futhark alphabet or runes used by both Scandanavian which over time and conquest have manifested into what we know today.

The naming of the days was based mainly on the religous beliefs and customs of the Angles and Saxon:

Monday – Originated from Mani’s day, Mani being the Moon deity.
Tuesday – Was indeed from the one hand war god Tiwaz or Tir
Wednesday – Originated from Wodan’s day. Wodan being Odin head of the Saxon/Angle pantheon
Thursday – Was named after Thor the god of Thunder and Lightening
Friday – As mentioned above. Frey being Wodan’s wife/consort/lover.
Saturday – Comes from the Old English – Sæternesdæg, meaning Saturn’s day as per Roman culture. To me it seems a bit strange to name days after your own tradition, except for one day. I prefer a more linked etymology of saetta being old Norse (closely linked to old high german) for reconciliation. So Sættasdagr actually means day of reconciliation. [citation needed]
Sunday – After the Sun god Sunna (known as Sol to the Nordic tribes)

StudiousBeauty on October 12, 2010 at 3:28 am

@ T.A.A.G.N.D!!! Apparently, it is one where adolescent blind faith and sixth grade grammar skills qualify you to be disrespectful and closed minded to alternate forms of faith. Including, of course, ones that pre-date your prenatally-chosen religion. In a decade, or so, when you get to go to college, hopefully you will pick a non-faith-affiliated school and be able to take a decent comparative religion course. You are in for a very big shock.

Luca on October 12, 2010 at 3:55 am

The Roman Venus was the equivalent of the Greek Aphrodite. Both presided over love, romance, fertility, and the lot–in many ways similar to Frejya.

Interesting how different languages derive their sources for what they call as “Friday/Vendredi, etc”.

Noir Schist on October 12, 2010 at 4:16 am

To “The all american girl-next-door!!!”:

Your comments, which lack badly in punctuation and in any general ’sense’, are really an eyesore in the midst of these mostly educated, enjoyable comments about this article.

If you want to preach, go to a church. Don’t come on Dictionary.com and ruin the backs of informative writings with your beliefs, which are 50% made up of random punctuation marks.

Odin's_boy on October 13, 2010 at 8:13 am

@Luca – Correct and a good observation. Funnily enough language and religous worship (especially around Europe) made very similar journeys, largely based on conquest and trade routes. Indeed, religions (mainly pagan during the dark ages) took on their own regional dialects for worship i.e. slight deviations from the common faith at the time to reflect the zeitgeist (pardon the spiritual pun).

A lot of the Norse manuscripts (which are the basis of most knowledge of the Dark ages in Scandanavia and Germany) share more then slight similarities with the religious beliefs of Greece and the Mediterranean.

However, we digress into religion rather than linguistics. Apologogies

Purple on October 14, 2010 at 10:06 am

Respect to the man who looks to the past as well as the future. Without history there can be no future.(Sadly it seems we’re heading that way:-S)

Spawn on October 22, 2010 at 1:21 pm

So, I live with a family of asatru, and I can tell you that Friday is named after lady Frejya. And if any one is confused about Monday, it was named after Mani (pronounced “Mo-ny”), and sunday was named after his sister Sunna (“Suu-na”).

smoothius on October 28, 2010 at 8:04 am

is it friggin friday yet?

Ferret on November 8, 2010 at 9:19 pm

I’ve studied a bit of German, and I find it interesting that the German word for Friday, “Freitag,” literally means, “free day.” So it seemed to me that the German language is where Friday originated. However, that does not make this article any less interesting!

adam carolla's disciple on January 12, 2011 at 5:17 pm

the girl in the pic aint exactly “beautiful.”

Kiki on February 2, 2011 at 5:43 pm

The days of the week are norse(though in french they seem to line up with planets (tuesday=mardi=mars,wednesday=mercredi=mercury), the months and planets are Roman, what else do we take our time keeping from?

Kiki on February 2, 2011 at 6:04 pm

Heres my reply to the stick up their asses Jesus-followers (no offense to those who havent made rude, or inconsiderate, or closed minded comments), (and im talking to you Girl Next Door!) How about your holidays? are they so perfect? Christmas was taken from the pagans you so harshly just insulted. Yule origionally used the christmas tree,(and occurs 4 days before christmas), and celebrates the longest night of the year and the returning of the sun, not the birth of Jesus. Halloween was used to replace Samhain, a celebration of the dead, Easter was origionally Ostara, or Eostre, fertility and rebirth of life in the spring (not your oh-so-perfect Jesus), Groundhogs day was origionally Beltaine. So before you go accusing all other religions of lying, remember that yours is the baby religion here. Your religion’s creators took the dates of other peoples so as not to shock them when they started controlling religions.

I will also point out that the baby religion the is everything that relates to Christ and “God”, tried to kill all other religions by going on “Witch” and “Vampire” hunts.

A quick query, if your religion is so damn perfect and true, why is there hate on between Catholic, Christian, Mormon, etc when you all believe in the same damn deity?

I will admit that i may be slightly closed minded, but people who have their head shoved down the “my religions the best” tube as far as it will go, and boast about it to everyone, it pisses me off. Seriously. Im a Wiccan. And you know what? A book i picked up with various spells in it said RIGHT ON THE FIRST PAGE: “and no, just because you have decided to try out Wicca, doesn’t mean you have to give up any previous religions.” Yet, with most “Modern” religions its one religion, and thats it.

another question; you hate abortions and gays, but what if you save a baby, and it turns out to be gay? What will you do then?

Archon on April 19, 2011 at 8:17 pm

Girl-next-door; believing that JESUS is his name just makes you as wrong as the rest. And it’s not CHRIST either! Christ is a job description, like his father, Joseph, the carpenter. Christ means savior or messiah. It’s not a name. And his parents didn’t call him Jesus either. He was named Ieshoah, or what we would today call Joshuah. When St. Paul went to preach to the Greeks, he told them that Christ was the son of the most powerful god. The heathen Greeks referred to him as Ia-Zeus (the son of Zeus). This was later mis-spelled and mis-translated by the monks who compiled the Bible, as Jesus, so even your savior has a pagan name.

Nilonz on April 22, 2011 at 11:24 am

@Kiki, etc., You speak of open-mindedness and these “educated” comments, but you seem to have an issue with Christianity, but no other beliefs, based on a few comments by a Christian (that probably should not post until they have something of substanceto say). Isnt it interesting that in two posts she stirred you to your core? Everyday I read religious and pagan posts here, yet the Christians are the only ones you seem to target. Well I read this thread and found several different origins of days of the weeks from the so-called “educated”. Lighten up, get over yourself, and hey, wicca woman, practice what you preach: Mormons and Christians aint the same. And Abrahamic worship of Yaweh is not “new”… As for the Abortion/gay thing, that is in worse taste than TAAGND…

Nilonz on April 22, 2011 at 11:27 am

Archon, you need to put the comic books away my friend. Do your homework before you attempt to school Girl-Next-Door. Monks did not compile the bible…

Archon on April 23, 2011 at 1:08 pm

Nilonz: All reference works, including Wikipedia say that actual translation of the King James version of the Bible was done by 47 “scholars”, (italics mine) every one of whom was a member of The Church of England. At the time, C of E, as well as Catholic Church representatives, were known as priests or monks. To be important and well educated enough to be permitted to translate the Bible, most, if not all were Bishops or Archbishops, but they started at the bottom and worked their way up. A union president is still a rank and file union member, so, while they might not have been “mere” monks, they were still monks to a sufficient degree to explain to valley-girl Bible-thumpers. Perhaps I should have used the word translate rather than compile so as not to confuse you, but they did more than just translate, they assembled and organized the results and printed the book, which is what compiled means. Any other objections?

Jennie on September 19, 2011 at 7:16 am

So, are Frigga and Freya indeed the same? I wonder what the history is there…

Also (and I’m sorry that I feel the need to mention it here), I think we should not be too nonplussed by one very odd comment. Most people know that attitude with respect to learning is not representative of Christians or Christianity itself. The comments have deteriorated into a forum for giving and taking offense.

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints myself, and have had a bit of practice in not taking offense when someone accuses me of not being Christian.

nilonz on September 30, 2011 at 1:06 pm

@ Archon: yes, I have just one other suggestion; if Wikipedia is your best reference material, get back to your comic books. Hate to offend the easily offendable.

David L Fort on October 2, 2011 at 1:17 pm

“In essence, Friday is a name given to a the 6th day in a seven day sequence of days called a week (that of which begins on Sunday).”

Unless, of course, you are part of a tradition which places Friday in a different position, f’rex; The Seventh Day Adventists (who place Friday as the Sabbath, or Seventh Day), or are European (whose calendars generally begin the week on Monday, making Friday the Fifth day). The American calendar seems to be based largely on the Jewish tradition in ending the week on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath).

Of more interest to me is the way in which the seasons differ between the American and European traditions. For those not in the know, in Europe, Equinoxes and Solstices generally fall in the middle of their respective seasons (as they have historically). In America, or at least in the U.S., they mark the beginning of those seasons, which leads to hilarious peculiarities– like winter not beginning until December 23rd.

MissRedHead on February 29, 2012 at 3:33 pm

i didnt read any comments or even the article but my first thought at reading the article title was – sweet, i was born on a friday and i sure do love cats! correlation perhaps?????-how about we make correlations based on the day of the week we are born on.. plyz!?!
xo ♥

MissRedHead on February 29, 2012 at 3:36 pm

i just decided to actually read the article, i was stopped by the very first line…i love it
- “In a world that knows too many details about unimportant matters…”

WOW! This is the focus of pretty much all dictionary.com articles and ha, thats why i love’em!

MissRedHead on February 29, 2012 at 3:43 pm

okay so hmm

september means seven so april would mean 4
and i was born on the 4th AND i was born on a friday…
And i have a huge heart ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
this makes a lot of sense?

Datein on March 15, 2012 at 4:43 am

I do find it quite intreging that everyone is trying to disprove another. If lore is from centries ago then how has it become so ‘exact’ now days? If many religion’s are almost identical then they can prove a theory but there are many religion’s, therefore every religion would try to put their ‘2 cents’ in to show a higher authority on others on different lore.

OnceInABlueMoon on April 15, 2012 at 10:26 am

Terri Murray, Girl Friday is the feminine form of “Man Friday”, which means a diligent and devoted aide or employee. It isn’t named after the day though; it is named after the servant Friday in Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

sherryyu on June 15, 2012 at 8:39 am

never knew that

your mom on June 15, 2012 at 8:59 am

yhat is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fake jesus and god the father are the real deal and everyone else is a no-show.

A Real Pretender on June 15, 2012 at 9:27 am

Reply to ‘all-american girl next door’:
Just because you’re all ‘Jesus Jesus Jesus’ doesn’t mean the Norse were! Their mythology is different than yours. So what? That doesn’t mean that they were stupid or lonely (which, I noticed, you spelled incorrectly as ‘lonly’. Please; if you’re posting on a site called DICTIONARY.COM, learn how to spell. And if you can’t, USE THE EFFING DICTIONARY PROVIDED FOR YOU ON THE WEBSITE!) or that their gods or goddesses were, it just means that their beliefs and values are different than yours. Your ignorant comment immensely disagreed with me. Also, don’t Christians believe in the golden rule: Treat others how you want to be treated? How would you like it if a Norse believer came and called Jesus stupid because he willingly got himself killed, which is suicide, which is against your Christian beliefs? Yeah, I thought so.
And to your second comment: This is a website for scholarly debate and education (including the education of spelling and grammar, which you have so clearly ignored), not a website for preaching your beliefs and discrediting/mocking the beliefs of others. If you want to preach, go to a church. If you want to make fun of others, recall how your Jesus said ‘What you do to the least of my brethren, you do to me’. So if you make fun of Norse beliefs and others’ comments, you’re indirectly making fun of Jesus. And we all know that making fun of Jesus is what gets you into Heaven (that’s sarcasm, if you can’t tell).

Other than those comments, great article! :) Dictionary.com has got to be one of my favourite websites.

J on June 15, 2012 at 10:01 am

It would be nice if we could get hotwords more frequently and didn’t get “reruns”

hiney Bliggard on June 15, 2012 at 10:50 am

hey Saf – …..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………..

Orca Snorkel on June 15, 2012 at 10:53 am

Thank Nanook It’s Friday

Annie Parker on June 15, 2012 at 12:27 pm

Fantastic!

mary on June 15, 2012 at 12:51 pm

Friday is named after WHOM. Not who. Geez.

NoName on June 15, 2012 at 1:24 pm

What about Friday, in fact coming from the original roman calendar and it name coming from “Venus”. You can tell this by looking at the roman or latin based languages like, Spanish, French, etc. I’m having a hard time believing what you say here.

Hannah G. Lee on June 15, 2012 at 3:51 pm

Stupendous! I love goddesses as well as mythology! I like Greek myths best, but others are still interesting.
I wish I was a goddess…

Mackenzie on June 15, 2012 at 4:31 pm

@MissRedHead,

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! that was funny

When I first looked at the title of this article, my brain just told me to sing “It’s Friday, Friday, gonna get down on Fridayyyy” by Rebecca Black

Even though that’s a song from last year, it’s still stuck in my head!!!
So thanks, dictionary.com, for bringing that annoying song back into my mind.

Hannah G. Lee on June 15, 2012 at 6:52 pm

SCHOOLS OUT!
SUMMERS ON!
YAY YAAA!
YAY YAAA!

Minni on June 15, 2012 at 9:16 pm

it’s funny and sad because i had my first boyfriend on a Friday. He first hugged me on Friday and kissed my cheek for the first time the next Friday. He then broke up with me on a Friday. and today (Friday) he hugged me twice and i said that he wasn’t such a bad first boyfriend. apparently, Fridays love giving me surprises.

gosh, i need a life :(

Dani on June 15, 2012 at 11:12 pm

I’ve got a friend named Freya…ever since we were little, every time anyone has asked about her name all of us have been spouting this little-known fact. XD

Ebony on June 16, 2012 at 6:58 am

sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saterday. when does Loki get honored? sure he isn’t really an Áss, but neither is Freya, who is one of the vanir gods. Loki is, like, the coolest jotun ever, and one of the most handsome. i say it’s time we give Loki his time in the limelight!

dada on June 16, 2012 at 8:47 am

Thank you for let us know. I knew it since 2007. Since then i changed to call the fifth day friday, the new name is Victory day. I don’t about you.

LIMETURTLE on June 16, 2012 at 9:31 am

isnt Asgard and Friggand Odin part of themovie Thor???

Name on June 16, 2012 at 10:58 am

TGIF!!! :D ( Thank God Its Friday )

kl on June 16, 2012 at 1:56 pm

I feel sorry for TAAGND…. it appears that she has used her entire vocabulary in each of her posts… I feel very sad that she is so very close-minded. Perhaps she should do better research because even the story of her “jesus” is based off of the pagan Sun God. Ahh well… I truly can’t be too angry or offended by one’s stupidity… The article is indeed clever. I had read in one of my rune books that Thursday is named after Thurisaz which is in essence the same as Thor. Here’s a great link about Thurisaz: http://www.runemaker.com/futhark/thurisaz.shtml (ugh! ok, so link may not be the best way to describe this… if it doesn’t work, just copy and paste it. Sorry…)

Madre Osa on June 16, 2012 at 6:54 pm

This is all very interesting. However, if one were to search for the etymology of the days of the week, I would think looking at the Latin would be very useful, and these are mostly named for the astrological bodies, namely: Sunday – quite obviously is the Sun; Monday (Luna) = Moon; Tuesday (Martis) = Mars; Wednesday (Mercuri) = Mercury; Thursday (Jovis) = Jupiter; Friday (Veneris) = Venus; Saturday is a little different; the latin is “sabbati” which means sabbath.

Emilia on July 24, 2012 at 2:07 pm

I’m rather sorry to say it, but reading T.A.A.G.N.D.’s comments slightly disgusted me. I mean, how old are you? Seriouly, I’m 12 and i use better grammer! I’m also of the same religion and would not go around insulting other religions or beliefs. I’m not saying you constantly have to be politically correct (because let’s face it: who is?) but at be polite! I don’t neccessarily agree with all the people who completley and utterley dissed her, but really, think before you comment!

Dave the Large on July 25, 2012 at 12:48 pm

What an awesome thread. There’s enough on-topic info here to make a really excellent Wikipedia article. Plus there’s enough chaff to make a great article for a 200-level English course in Creative Writing. Nobody needs to feel sorry for TAAGND. She’s processing the world around her as well as she can with the tools she’s been given. I’m glad for her that she comes on here now and then to see what the rest of us are up to. In order to make comparisons as she does, she reads our comments, and whether she agrees or disagrees, she does let the words enter, and she does process them. Reminds me of the story of Bart Ehrman, respected college professor of religion, author of many books on the Bible, well-paid, high visibility lecturer, who after getting straight A’s at Moody Bible, was encouraged to continue studying the Bible in graduate work at Yale Divinity School.

On topic, I most enjoy comparing the names of the days in other languages to get an idea of how the week shaped up in other cultures. We forget that our ‘weekend’ is shaped by religious traditions that don’t appear in every place in God’s green earth. We forget that our two-day break is really recent history. The idea that vendredi is perhaps market day, or perhaps a day to celebrate Venus, the goddess of love, is just a wonderful contrast. Or perhaps the goddess of love should be celebrated instead on Friday? In any case get all that sexy physical stuff out of the way before it’s time for church or temple or synagogue or mosque or ward or gathering in the woods.

Olivia on August 12, 2012 at 5:50 pm

cool, but not really explanatory or complete……..

OMG so rick riordan will eventually write a norse series did anyone else know that\?!?!?!?!!? thats SO awesome!!!!!!!!!

Kayla Jupiter on September 14, 2012 at 5:51 am

I love when we have hot word of the deyy this one 2day is a little wierd sorry but it is i never heard this word in my life be4 o……………………m……………………….g……………………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you learn somethin’ every day you c(:

Randolph Betsch on September 14, 2012 at 10:08 am

This definition, or etymological attempt, is interesting. Several Norse Gods have been credited with origin of Friday. The three most common are: Frigg, Freyja & Freyr. Some have argued that Frigg & Freyja are the same god. Frigg is the highest goddess of the Æsir, Odins wife. Freyja is the highest goddess of the Vanir and her brother Freyr. In Old Norse the day is: Frjádagr. I’ll let you arrive at your own conclusions, we could discuss this all day.

SkythekidRS on April 29, 2013 at 7:03 am

Butter hair

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