Etymologically
Log in

vendredi

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word vendredi

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

Pronunciation

  • /vɑ̃.dʁə.di/[1]

Forms

vendredi m (plural vendredis)[1] Old French vendresdi and venredi.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French vendresdi, inherited from Latin Veneris diēs (“day of Venus”), formed of Veneris, the genitive of Venus, and diēs (“day”).[2][4][5] The same Latin word for “day” ends the names of the other weekdays in French.[4]

Old French and Old Walloon also had divendres (about 1130), with the two Latin words in the reverse order;[2][4] according to the TLFi this type was dominant in the northern and southern dialects, while Bloch and Wartburg note forms such as divenres in the dialects of the north and of Burgundy.[2][6] Cognate with Italian venerdì and Spanish viernes; both types survive in the other Romance languages except Portuguese.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded as vendresdi in 1119, in Philippe de Thaon's Comput, naming the weekday.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Its connotations come from the religious character of Friday, a Christian day of penance on which people traditionally ate no meat.[4][7] The Friday before Easter was called vendredi de croiz aouree in 1260,[2] saint vendredi about 1300 and bon vendredi in the 15th century (in Walloon boin venredi as early as 1349), a phrase Rey compares with English Good Friday.[4][2] The modern vendredi saint is recorded by Pomey in 1671 according to the TLFi and the DHLF, and by Furetière in 1690 according to the GLLF.[2][4][5] Littré also records le grand vendredi for the same day.[3]

The proverb Tel qui rit vendredi dimanche pleurera warns that joy may soon turn to grief.[7]

Timeline

  • 1119 – Vendresdi appears in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.[2]
  • c. 1130 – The reversed form divendres is found in Old French and Old Walloon.[2]
  • c. 1175 – The spelling vendredi is found in Chrétien de Troyes.[5][4]
  • 1260 – Étienne Boileau writes vendredi de croiz aouree for Good Friday.[2]
  • c. 1300 – Le saint Vendredi appears in Guillaume de Saint-Pathus's life of Saint Louis.[2]
  • 1349 – Walloon boin venredi “Good Friday”.[4]
  • 1671 – Pomey records vendredy saint.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Friday, the day of the week between jeudi and samedi.[7][2][1]
  2. Vendredi saint: Good Friday, the Friday before Pâques, on which the death of Christ is commemorated.[7][4]
  3. Vendredi treize: a Friday falling on the 13th of the month.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Vendredi.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/vendredi. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·