Where does “weekend” come from?
Weekend derives from English week, Middle English weke, Old English wice, Proto-Germanic waikwaz, and Proto-Indo-European roots weg-, weyk-, wey-, and h₂ent-.
weekend (English): The break in the working week, usually two days...
Definitions
- The break in the working week, usually two days...
Ancestry of “weekend”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | week | Any period of seven consecutive days; A period of... |
| 2 | Middle English | wyke | Alternative form of wikke; Alternative form of... |
| 3 | Old English | wīc | dwelling place, abode; abode, dwelling-place;... |
| 4 | German | witz | — |
| 5 | Middle High German | witz | — |
| 6 | Old High German | wizzi | — |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | wītī | punishment |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | witją | knowledge; reason; sense; understanding; wit |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | *witaną | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | wóyde | to have seen, to know |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | weyd- | to see |
Words derived from “weekend”