lundi

Forms

lundi m (plural lundis)^[1] Old French lunsdi, lunsdis; in north-eastern texts diluns, deluns.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French lunsdi, inherited from Vulgar Latin *Lūnis diēs, an alteration of Latin Lūnae diēs (“day of the moon”) after the genitives Mārtis, Iovis and Veneris (see mardi, jeudi, vendredi).^[2][4][3][5] diē Lūnis is attested in Apulia in 393.^[2] The parts are lūna (“moon”) and diēs (“day”).^[4][6]

In Rome the days of the week were named after the seven planets;^[2][4] Christianity replaced Saturn and the Sun by sabbatum and dominicus, the sources of samedi and dimanche.^[2][4] The order diēs Lūnae seems to have been the usual one, competing early with the reverse order;^[2][4] Isidore of Seville also records a type without the word for day, and a Christian type secunda fēria, kept in Portuguese segunda-feira.^[2][4]

The type *diēs Lūnis survives in Catalan dilluns, Occitan dilun and Old French deluns (Wallonia, Hainaut, Picardy), the reverse order in French and Italian lunedì,^[2][4] and *Lūnis alone in Spanish lunes and in Romanian and Sardinian.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as lunsdi in Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119), and as lundi in Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174).^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word names the first working day of the week, after Sunday.^[4] The working week's restart explains ça va comme un lundi “things are not going too well”.^[4] Not working on Monday was faire le lundi des savetiers (Oudin, 1656), later faire le lundi (1791) and fêter la Saint-Lundi (1867).^[6][7][8] Lundi gras, the last Monday of the carnival, is recorded in 1530 and lundi saint in 1680.^[6]

Timeline

• 1119 – Lunsdi in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.^[2]
• 1160–1174 – Lundi in Wace.^[2]
• 13th–15th century – Deluns in Wallonia, Hainaut and Picardy.^[2]
• 1530 – Lundi gras (Palsgrave).^[6]
• 1656 – Faire le lundi des savetiers (Oudin).^[6]
• 1680 – Lundi saint (Richelet).^[6]
• 1791 – Faire le lundi “not to work on Monday”.^[8]
• 1867 – Fêter la Saint-Lundi in Littré.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Monday, the day of the week after Sunday.^[9][10]
2. Lundi de Pâques, lundi de Pentecôte: Easter Monday, Whit Monday.^[9]
3. Lundi gras: the last Monday of the carnival before Lent.^[6]

Related words

• lune
• mardi
• Latin lūna

Usage notes

Written without a capital for the day of the week, but with one in Lundi saint.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 450b
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)