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jeudi

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Etymology and origin of the French word jeudi

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1119 Philippe de Thaon, Comput More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin Iovis dies via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin Iovis diēs

Pronunciation

Forms

jeudi m (plural jeudis)[1] Old French juesdi, also joedi; the Académie wrote jeudy in 1694 and 1718 and jeudi from 1740.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French juesdi, inherited from Latin Jovis diēs (“day of Jupiter”).[2][4][5][6] Jovis is the genitive of Jupiter, and diēs means “day”;[5] Rey traces both the god's name and the word for day to Proto-Indo-European *dei- (“to shine”).[5]

The same order lives on in French and Italian giovedì, the reverse order, dies Jovis, in Catalan dijous, Occitan and Franco-Provençal dijou and Old French dioes, and the genitive alone in Spanish jueves and Franco-Provençal jou.[2][5][7] German Donnerstag and English Thursday contain instead the Germanic god of thunder, identified with Jupiter.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as juesdi in 1119 in Philippe de Thaon's Comput, meaning Thursday.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has not changed.[5] Jeudi saint, Maundy Thursday, replaced the older jeudi absolu or jeudi de l'absoute.[5][3] La semaine des trois jeudis (1532), later la semaine des quatre jeudis (1867), means “never”.[5] Thursday was long the weekly holiday of French schoolchildren, later replaced by Wednesday.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1119 – Juesdi in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.[2][5]
  • early 13th century – The form jeudi appears.[10][8]
  • 1532 – La semaine des trois jeudis “never” is recorded.[5]
  • 1636 – Monet records jeudi gras.[8]
  • 1867 – La semaine des quatre jeudis appears.[5][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Thursday, the day after mercredi.[9][11]
  2. Jeudi saint: Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Pâques.[9][3]
  3. La semaine des quatre jeudis (familiar): never.[11][9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 78b
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Jeudi.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/jeudi. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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