week
VIDEO FOR WEEK
Where Did The Days Of The Week Get Their Names?
We're here today to talk about how our favorite (and least favorite) days of the week got their names. Here are the real stories ...
Origin of week
Words nearby week
MORE ABOUT WEEK
What does week mean?
Week most generally refers to any period of seven consecutive days.
The word week also commonly refers to the seven-day period that begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday (though in some places this may be different, with the week considered to begin on Monday, for example). There are 52 of these weeks in a calendar year.
Sometimes, the word week is used to refer to a seven-day period that begins or includes a specific day, as in the week of September 5 or Thanksgiving week.
It can also be used to refer to a seven-day period dedicated to a specific cause or cultural observation, as in National Grief Awareness Week.
The word week is also often used to refer to the workweek (or schoolweek) to distinguish this span of (often five) days from the weekend. The standard workweek is from Monday through Friday, with Saturday and Sunday being considered the weekend, though working schedules vary widely. Many full-time jobs consist of a 40-hour week (five eight-hour days).
The days within this five-day span are called weekdays, and the evenings of those days are called weeknights. The middle of the week is called midweek.
The word weekly most commonly means done or happening once a week or every week, as in a weekly meeting.
Example: They said it would take a week to get a reply, and it’s been six days already, so I’m hoping for a response tomorrow.
Where does week come from?
The first records of the word week come from before the 900s. It’s related to the Latin vicis, meaning “turn.” The week as a unit of time is very old, dating back at least to Sumerian and Babylonian cultures, which both used a seven-day unit of time. The seven-day week appears in the Biblical account of creation.
The rarely used word yesterweek means the same thing as yesterday but for a week. More commonly, we just say last week (or the past week). The week equivalent of tomorrow is next week (or the coming week). To refer to the current week, we say this week.
Speakers of British English sometimes use week as an adverb meaning “a week before or after the day,” as in She visited yesterday week (a week from yesterday), or We’ll be publishing it Thursday week (a week from Thursday).
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to week?
- weekly (adjective, adverb)
What are some synonyms for week?
- hebdomad (rare)
- sennight (rare)
- workweek (when week refers to the five-day period that is not the weekend)
What are some words that share a root or word element with week?
What are some words that often get used in discussing week?
How is week used in real life?
Week is one of the basic units that we use to measure time, along with seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years. It is an extremely common word—there is no other common word to refer to a seven-day unit of time.
"Blinding Lights" by @theweeknd has officially spent a full year (52 weeks) on the Billboard Hot 100. It is just the 76th song in HISTORY and his first song to achieve this. pic.twitter.com/QYGm508MWP
— Pop Data (@PopDataMusic) November 30, 2020
Klopp on Thiago: "On that day when he got injured v Everton, after the scan there was good news & bad news. Nothing broken or ruptured but it was still a massive impact on the knee. It's still not okay. I can't say exactly when he will be fine but it'll take a few weeks still."
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) November 30, 2020
A parent said such a nice comment to me earlier, and to say it’s made my week is an understatement!🙌🏻
— Mr O'Leary (@MrOLeary3) November 30, 2020
Try using week!
True or False?
The word week can sometimes refer to a five-day period.