Modern Influences
| Day (Old Norse) | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mánadagr | Moon's day |
| Týsdagr | Tyr's day |
| Óðinsdagr | Odin's day |
| Þórsdagr | Thor's day |
| Frjádagr | Freyja's day |
| Laugardagr | Washing day |
| Sunnudagr/Dróttinsdagr | Sun's day/Lord's day |
The Nordic gods have left numerous traces in modern vocabulary and elements of every day western life in most North Germanic language speaking countries. An example of this is some of the names of the days of the week: modelled after the names of the days of the week in Latin (named after Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn), the names for Tuesday through to Friday were replaced with Nordic equivalents of the Roman gods and the names for Monday and Sunday after the Sun and Moon. In Scandinavia, Saturday is called "Lørdag", the "Bath Day", in English and Dutch, "Saturn" was not replaced, while in German, Saturday was renamed after the definition of Sabbath (meaning the day of rest).
| Day | Swedish | Danish/Norwegian | German | Dutch | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Måndag | Mandag | Montag | Maandag | Day of the Moon |
| Tuesday | Tisdag | Tirsdag | Dienstag | Dinsdag | Day of Tyr (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian), day of the thing (assembly) (Dutch and German) |
| Wednesday | Onsdag | Onsdag | Mittwoch | Woensdag | Day of Odin (Woden or Wotan), middle of week (German) |
| Thursday | Torsdag | Torsdag | Donnerstag | Donderdag | Day of Thor/Donar or thunder (both words derive from the same root) |
| Friday | Fredag | Fredag | Freitag | Vrijdag | Day of Freyja or Frigg |
| Saturday | Lördag | Lørdag | Samstag | Zaterdag | Day of Saturn (English and Dutch), day of bath (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian), Sabbath (German) |
| Sunday | Söndag | Søndag | Sonntag | Zondag | Day of the Sun |
Read more about this topic: Norse Mythology
Famous quotes containing the words modern and/or influences:
“Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“Professors of literature, who for the most part are genteel but mediocre men, can make but a poor defense of their profession, and the professors of science, who are frequently men of great intelligence but of limited interests and education, feel a politely disguised contempt for it; and thus the study of one of the most pervasive and powerful influences on human life is traduced and neglected.”
—Yvor Winters (1900–1968)