Origins of the Days' and Seasons' Slovak Names
Even though we are all familiar with the individual names of days, months and seasons, it is interesting to note their origin.
The Days of the Week
Pondelok, Monday, comes from po nedeli meaning after Sunday.
Utorok, Tuesday, comes from the same root as the Russian word vtoroj meaning “second”.
Streda, Wednesday, means the “middle” of the week.
štvrtok, Thursday, is the “fourth” day of the week.
Piatok, Friday, is the “fifth” day of the week.
Sobota, Saturday, derived from the Greek/Latin word sabbata comes from the Hebrew word sabat meaning “Sabbath” or “Pastime”.
Nedeľa, Sunday, derives form the verb nedelat, “not to work”, a holiday.
The Seasons of the Year
Jar, Spring, means lively, swift, roused, and exuberant.
Leto, Summer, is derived from the Latin word laetus which means jolly, happy, glad.
Jeseň, Autumn, is a Slavonic word - Russian oseň, Serb-Croat jeseň, Polish jesieň.
žima, Winter, from the ancient word hima, coming from India, can be found in the name Himalayas, which means wintery.
*** This topic and many others may be found in our book Slovak Folk Customs and Traditions. ***