Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “thursday” come from?

thursday (English) comes from Middle English Thursday, from Old English þursdæġ, from Proto-Germanic *Þunras dag, from Latin dies iovis, from Latin diēs, from Proto-Italic djēm, from Proto-Italic *djous, from Proto-Indo-European dyḗws — to be bright; sky, heaven.

Ancestry of “thursday”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishThursdayThursday
2Old Englishþursdæġ—
3Proto-Germanic*Þunras dag—
4Latindies iovis—
5Latindiēs—
6Proto-Italicdjēmaccusative singular of *djous
7Proto-Italic*djous—
8Proto-Indo-Europeandyḗwssky, heaven; sky god
9Proto-Indo-Europeandyéws—
10Proto-Indo-Europeandyew-to be bright; sky, heaven
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dyew- →