*Þunras dag

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs *Þunras dag "Thursday" for Proto-West Germanic.^[1] EWA traces the forms of the West Germanic languages to *þonares dag.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Proto-West Germanic *Þunr (“Thor, the thunder god”) + *dag (“day”), the first part in the genitive.^[1][2] EWA names Latin diēs Iovis (“day of Jupiter”) as the model.^[2] In antiquity the days of the week were named after the planets, following an eastern model, and the planets bore the names of their gods; the Germanic peoples imitated this, putting the god of weather and thunder, probably held the highest god among the farming population, in the place of Jupiter, and the image of Jupiter hurling the thunderbolt may also have played a part.^[2]

Morphology

A masculine a-stem.^[2][3][4]

Evidence

The word is attested in Old English þunresdæġ, also þuresdæg and þursdæg,^[3] in Old Frisian thunresdei, with many later variants,^[5] and in Old High German donarestag, recorded only in glosses from the 11th century on, among them Notker.^[2] EWA lists Middle Low German and Middle Dutch forms such as donresdach.^[2] It reports that the Middle English forms that gave the English word Thursday arose under East Norse influence, and it compares Old Norse þórsdagr.^[2]

Meanings

1. Thursday^[1][2]

EWA renders the reconstructed phrase literally as "the day of the thunder".^[2] Old Frisian also had a hwīta thunresdei "Maundy Thursday".^[5]

Reflexes

• Old English: þunresdæġ (“Thursday”)^[3]
• Old Frisian: thunresdei (“Thursday”)^[5]
• Old High German: donarestag (“Thursday”)^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *Þunras dag
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. donarestag
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. Þunresdæg
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. thunresdei
5. ^ a b c Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. thunresdei