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一周中的每个工作日名称由来(中英双语)

 木头1018 2017-03-15

罗马帝国时代,一周每天的拉丁名字以行星名字命名,而行星名字又取自神祇。这些名字经过翻译被英国人和其它讲日耳曼语的民族采纳。


Tell me why … I don’t like Moondays

谁能告诉我,为何我不喜欢星期一


Monday was traditionally regarded as the second day of the week, but is now frequently considered the first, following the weekend. The word for this day comes from old English Mōnand?g or ‘day of the moon’, and is a translation of late Latin lunae dies. You can see the Latin origin more clearly in the Romance languages: lunedi (Italian), lundi (French), and lunes (Spanish).

传统上讲,星期一被认为是一周的第二天,但现在经常是当作继周末后的第一天了。这一天的名字来自古英语Mōnand?gday of the moon),即月亮日,这是翻译自晚期拉丁语lunae dies。在日耳曼语言中,你可以更清楚地看出它的拉丁语起源:lunedi(意大利语), lundi (法语), lunes (西班牙语)

 

According to the OED, ‘Monday’ is also slang for a large, heavy sledgehammer – perhaps so called because the hard work involved in the use of the hammer provides a shock similar to coming back to work on a Monday. In a similar vein, a ‘Monday head’ is rare slang for a hangover following the excesses of the weekend.

根据《牛津英语辞典》,Monday一词还是表示大型重锤的俚语,如此说法或许是因为使用锤子就会是个苦活,鉴于周一回到工作岗位的冲击与此类似。另一个类似的用语是Monday head,这是很少使用的俚语,指周末花天酒地后的宿醉。


Tuesday: a perfect day to pick fights with everyone

星期二:一个与人战斗的好日子

 

The word Tuesday can be traced back to the Old English form Tīwesd?g. This day is named after the Germanic god Tīw, the god of war in ancient Germany. The Romans identified him with their Mars, so the original Latin for this day of the week is dies Marti, or ‘day of Mars’, which can again be seen in Italian (martedi), French (mardi), and Spanish(martes).

Tuesday一词可以追溯到古英语词形Tīwesd?g,后者是命名自古代德国的战神Tīw。罗马人把他认作自己的战神玛尔斯(Mars),因此,星期二的最早拉丁语是dies Marti(火星日),这在意大利语(martedi)、法语(mardi)和西班牙语(martes)中都可见其拉丁语痕迹。


Wensday? Whensday? Wendsday? Oh,Wednesday!


The tricky-to-spell name for this day comes from the Old English Wōdnesd?g, named after the god Odin (also Woden or Wotan). Odin is the principal god in Norse mythology: he is considered to be the god of wisdom, culture, war and death. He lived with the Valkyries in Valhalla, where he received the souls of dead warriors.

这个总是拼错的日子源自古英语Wōdnesd?g,取自神祇奥丁(或称作沃坦)的名字。奥丁是北欧神话中的至尊之神:他被认为是智慧、文化、战争和死亡之神。他与女武神住在瓦尔哈拉神殿,在其住处,他接收死亡武士的灵魂。

 

According to the OED, a variant of the god’s name can also be seen in English place names such as Wensley, Wednesbury, and Wednesfield.

根据《牛津英语辞典》,该神祇名字的变体也出现在英国的地名中,例如文斯利、温斯伯里、温斯菲尔德。


Mighty Maundy?

圣礼拜四,濯足节

 

As with the other days of the week,the name for Thursday comes via late Latin: originally, it is Jovis dies, the day of Jupiter. Jupiter is the god associated with thunder in Roman mythology, so the Old English translation is Thu(n)resd?g, literally ‘day of thunder’ – compare this with Dutch donderdag and German Donnerstag, which share the same origin.

随后的一天,Thursday的名字来自晚期拉丁语:最初,它是Jovis dies,木星日。丘比特是罗马神话中的雷(Thunder)神,因此古英语将其翻译为Thu(n)resd?g,即雷日。相较于荷兰语的donderdag和德语的Donnerstag,可见它们享有相同起源。

 

A day of thunder may not be welcomed by everybody, but there is one Thursday that has a positive connotation: in the UK, a public ceremony is held on the Thursday before Easter (known as Maundy Thursday), at which the monarch distributes specially minted coins or Maundy money.

雷日可能不是人人喜欢的,但有一种星期四有着积极的意向:在英国,复活节前的这个星期四要举行一个公共仪式,被称为圣星期四。在这个仪式中,由君主分发特别铸造的硬币或濯足钱。


Put your Friday face away

收起你的周五脸


Friday comes from the Old English Frīged?g, named after the Germanic goddess Frigga – the wife of Odin and goddess of married love and of the hearth, often identified with Freya, goddess of love and of night. This in turn is a translation of late Latin Veneris dies: ‘day of the planet Venus’.

Friday源自古英语Frīged?g,命名自日耳曼女神弗丽嘉(Frigga)。她是奥丁之妻,是联姻之爱和家庭女神,也常常被称作Freya,爱情和暗夜女神。这又是一个对晚期拉丁语的翻译,原始词汇为Veneris dies,金星日。

 

Counter-intuitively, to be ‘Friday-faced’ is to wear a serious or gloomy expression. According to the OED this use dates back to the sixteenth century and is now chiefly archaic. It probably refers to Friday as a day of fasting, with the nagging food deprivation presumably causing the gloom and doom.

或许想不到,摆着一张Friday-faced的脸就是指做出严肃或阴沉的表情。根据《牛津英语辞典》,这个用法可追溯至十六世纪,而现在已经成为古语。或许这是指星期五是一个斋戒日,不停唠叨不能吃东西可能会导致忧郁和无望。

 

But for many, Fridays are a good thing– the start of the weekend, celebrated in the abbreviation TGIF (Thank God It'sFriday)– with perhaps only the threat of a sledgehammer-like ‘Monday head’ to keep the festivities from getting out of hand.

但对于大多数人而言,星期五是个好事情——是周末欢庆的开始,可见于缩略语TGIF(感谢老天,星期五可算到了)中——或许只有像星期一大锤子的威胁才能让花天酒地的人不至于让欢庆失控。


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