"Friday" in seven languages
MeaningFriday
Spanish
viernes
/ˈbjeɾnes/
masc.inherited
French
vendredi
/vɑ̃dʁədi/
masc.inherited
VENERIS was squeezed to *venre-, and French slipped a d between n and r, as in tendre ← TENERUM.
Italian
venerdì
/venerˈdi/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
sexta-feira
/ˈsestɐ ˈfejɾɐ/
fem.other source · Church Latin FERIA SEXTA 'sixth feast day'
Romanian
vineri
/ˈvinerʲ/
fem.inherited
Catalan
divendres
/diˈbɛndɾəs/
masc.inherited
English
Friday
/ˈfɹaɪdeɪ/
native English · Old English Frīgedæg, Frig's day, a calque of Latin VENERIS DIĒS
English → ItalianFridayvenerdìNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: Venus, venereal.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
VENERIS DIEM‘the day of Venus’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Venus's day, matched in English with the goddess Frigg (Friday). Spanish diphthongs the stressed Ĕ: viernes.
English relatives: Venus, venereal
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl viernes salimos a cenar.
- frVendredi, on sort dîner.
- itVenerdì usciamo a cena.
- ptNa sexta a gente vai sair para jantar.
- roVineri ieșim la cină.
- caDivendres sortim a sopar.
- enOn Friday we're going out for dinner.