Saturday

Saturday
Saturday O.E. Sæterdæg, Sæternesdæg, lit. "day of the planet Saturn," from Sæternes (gen. of Sætern; see SATURN (Cf. Saturn)) + O.E. dæg "day." Partial loan-translation of L. Saturni dies "Saturn's day" (Cf. Du. zaterdag, O.Fris. saterdi, M.L.G. satersdach; Ir. dia Sathuirn, Welsh dydd Sadwrn). The Latin word is itself a loan-translation of Gk. kronou hemera, lit. "the day of Cronus."
Unlike other day names, no god substitution seems to have been attempted, perhaps because the northern European pantheon lacks a clear corresponding figure to Roman Saturn. An ancient Nordic custom, however, seems to be preserved in O.N. laugardagr, Dan. lèrdag, Swed. lördag "Saturday," lit. "bath day" (Cf. O.N. laug "bath"). Ger. Samstag (O.H.G. sambaztag) appears to be from a Gk. *sambaton, a nasalized colloquial form of sabbaton "sabbath," also attested in O.C.S. sabota, Rus. subbota, Fr. samedi.
Saturday night has been famous for "drunkenness and looseness in relations between the young men and young women" since at least mid-19c. Saturday-night special "cheap, low-caliber handgun" is American English, attested from 1976 (earlier Saturday-night pistol, 1929).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Saturday — Sat ur*day (?; 48), n. [OE. Saterday, AS. S[ae]terd[ae]g, S[ae]ternd[ae]g, S[ae]ternesd[ae]g, literally, Saturn s day, fr. L. Saturnus Saturn + AS. d[ae]g day; cf. L. dies Saturni.] The seventh or last day of the week; the day following Friday… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Saturday — (engl., spr. Sätterdeh), Sonnabend …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Saturday — (engl., spr. ßätterde), Sonnabend …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Saturday — see Friday …   Modern English usage

  • Saturday — ► NOUN ▪ the day of the week before Sunday and following Friday. ORIGIN Old English, translation of Latin Saturni dies day of Saturn …   English terms dictionary

  • Saturday — [sat′ər dā΄; ] occas. [, sat′ərdē΄] n. [ME Saterdai < OE Sæterdæg, akin to MDu Saterdagh < WGmc half transl. of L Saturni dies, Saturn s day, transl. of Gr Kronou hēmera, Cronus day] the seventh and last day of the week: abbrev. Sat, Sa, or …   English World dictionary

  • Saturday — For other uses, see Saturday (disambiguation). Saturnus, Caravaggio, 16th c. Saturday ( …   Wikipedia

  • Saturday — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Le mot Saturday (samedi, en anglais) entre dans de nombreux titres : Sommaire 1 Cinéma 2 Jeu vidéo …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Saturday — Sat|ur|day [ˈsætədi, deı US ər ] n [U and C] written abbreviation Sat. [Date: 800 900; Origin: Translation of Latin Saturni dies day of Saturn ] the day between Friday and Sunday on Saturday ▪ We went for a picnic on Saturday. ▪ The festivities… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Saturday — noun (C, U) the day between Friday and Sunday. In Britain, Saturday is considered the sixth day of the week, and in the US it is considered the seventh day of the week: on Saturday: We went for a picnic on Saturday. | Deats always goes home on… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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