Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tuesday” come from?

tuesday (English) comes from Middle English Tewesday, from Old English tīwesdæġ, from Proto-Germanic *Tīwas dag, from Latin dīēs Martis, from Latin diēs, from Proto-Italic djēm, from Proto-Italic *djous, from Proto-Indo-European dyḗws — to be bright; sky, heaven.

Ancestry of “tuesday”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishTewesdayTuesday
2Old EnglishtīwesdæġTuesday
3Proto-Germanic*Tīwas dag—
4Latindīēs Martis—
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- →