Monday

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The second day of the week in many cultures, commonly regarded as the initial day of the work week, and traditionally linked to lunar themes in its naming
2. This day comes after Sunday, marks the beginning of the work week for many people, and is named in honor of the Moon in various languages
3. The day after Sunday that often marks the start of a new work or school week

Etymology: The English name is a translation rather than a native invention. Old English "mōnandæġ" meant "day of the moon," and it was formed as a calque of the Latin "diēs Lūnae," which is itself the Roman name for the day. Early Germanic peoples apparently borrowed the Roman weekday scheme and rendered each planetary name in their own words, so the Moon became the source of the English name, while the Sun, rendered as "Sunday," lent its name to the day before it. The word combines "moon" and "day," two very old English words. Its Middle English form, "Monday" or "Monenday," simply smoothed the Old English vowel pattern over the centuries. Many relatives across Germanic and Scandinavian languages, such as German "Montag," Dutch "maandag," and Swedish "måndag," preserve the same idea, showing that the custom of naming the day after the Moon spread widely among the Germanic peoples.

Synonyms: Mon, first day of the week