SHARE
COPY LINK

SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: onsdag

Onsdag is the Swedish word for Wednesday.

the word onsdag written on a blackboard next to the swedish flag
Did you know Wednesday and onsdag are both named after the same god? Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

It’s named after the Norse god Odin, usually Oden in Swedish (this is where the English word Wednesday comes from too – Woden’s Day, as he was known in Old English).

The oldest and wisest among them, Odin is the king of the Norse gods and father of many famous gods, notably the god of thunder, Thor, and Baldr. He rides the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, and is often accompanied by the ravens Huginn and Muninn.

Odin is the lord of Valhalla, the huge hall in Asgard, to which many of those who die in combat travel after death – according to Norse mythology, at least.

He is often associated with the Roman god Mercury, who appears in the word for Wednesday in languages with Latin roots, including French (mercredi) and Italian (mercoledì).

An alternative word for Wednesday in Swedish is… Little Saturday (lillördag).

In times gone by, servants might have to work on Saturdays, and were given one weekday off work instead, usually midweek. So Wednesday was given the nickname piglördag, from the word piga which means “maid” or “servant”: “servant Saturday”.

Piglördag was also called lillördag, and as it became less and less common to have household staff, lillördag was used more and more.

Over time, the meaning changed too: Lillördag has now become an excuse for midweek drinks and activities, so you might get an invitation from Swedish co-workers to go for an afterwork to celebrate.

Examples:

Ska vi ta en afterwork på onsdag?

Shall we go for drinks after work on Wednesday?

Oj, är det redan onsdag?!

Wow, is it already Wednesday?!

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is now available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: dymmelonsdag

The Wednesday before Easter has an unusual name in Swedish: dymmelonsdag. Where does the name come from?

Swedish word of the day: dymmelonsdag

There are a few different names for the week before Easter in Swedish, with the most traditional being stilla veckan, or “quiet week”, as it’s the week Jesus is believed to have died. Other terms are passionsveckan (passion week) and tysta veckan (quiet week).

Most people nowadays will just refer to it as påskveckan (Easter week).

The Wednesday of stilla veckan, which has a number of names in English, including Holy Wednesday, Spy Wednesday, Good Wednesday or Great and Holy Wednesday, is known as dymmelonsdag in Swedish.

Onsdag here means Wednesday, named after the Norse god Odin, usually Oden in Swedish (this is where the English word Wednesday comes from too – Woden’s Day, as he was known in Old English).

  • Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button

But what’s a dymmel? Well, the term dates back to medieval traditions for the Wednesday before Easter.

This day was traditionally seen as the first day of påskfriden or “Easter peace”, the three days leading up to Easter where the metal clapper or hammer (the bit inside a church bell which makes it ring) was wrapped in straw or swapped out with a quieter wooden clapper, known as a dymmel.

This dymmel stayed in place until Easter Saturday, after which påskfriden was over and the original metal clapper was put back in place.

It’s not entirely clear where the term dymmel comes from, but an earlier spelling of the word in Old Swedish is dymbil. This may have its roots in English – it bears a resemblance to “dumb bell”, which, before becoming a name for a type of gym equipment, was a type of wooden contraption which church bell ringers could use to practise ringing without making too much noise. 

Dumb here is used in its original sense of being silent or unable to speak, rather than the newer meaning of somebody lacking intelligence.

Another term for the week before Easter is dymmelveckan, named after this wooden clapper.

This isn’t the only way in which påskfriden was marked – other sounds were muffled and as little work as possible was to be carried out. Instead, people were supposed to think about Jesus’ life and regret and repent their sins.

Dymmelonsdag was considered to be a dangerous day, so it may not be the best idea to use “dumbbell Wednesday” as a sign to hit the gym.

Tasks that involved things that rotated – such as machines with wheels like spinning wheels and millstones – should be especially avoided, as they were seen as contributing to Jesus’ suffering.

This kind of work was referred to as kringgärningar – roughly translated as “spinning acts”.

In some parts of the country, such as Småland, the dymmel was considered to be some sort of creature, which would mess with the yarns if you spun fibres. In Skåne, it was believed that if you spun yarn on this day, the roof would blow off.

It wasn’t all bad, though. If you made sure not to mention lice or fleas on dymmelonsdag, you wouldn’t see them for the rest of the year, and you could get revenge on a neighbour by running around their manure pile naked before sunrise on dymmelonsdag… although maybe skip that one this year unless you want the police to get involved.

Example sentences:

Skärtorsdag och långfredag känner du redan, men visste du att onsdag i påskveckan heter dymmelonsdag?

You already know about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, but did you know that Wednesday in Easter Week is known as dymmelonsdag?

Varför heter det dymmelonsdag egentligen?

Why is it called dymmelonsdag?

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

SHOW COMMENTS