week
See also: Wéëk
English
Alternative forms
- weeke (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English weke, from Old English wiċe, wucu (“week”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikā, from Proto-Germanic *wikǭ (“turn, succession, change, week”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyg-, *weyk- (“to bend, wind, turn, yield”). Related to Proto-Germanic *wīkaną (“to bend, yield, cease”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Wiek, West Frisian wike, Dutch week, German Woche, Danish uge, Norwegian Nynorsk veke, Swedish vecka, Icelandic vika, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌺𐍉 (wikō, “turn for temple service”), Latin vicis. Related also to Old English wīcan (“to yield, give way”), English weak and wick.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /wik/
- enPR: wēk, IPA(key): /wiːk/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -iːk
- Homophone: weak
Noun
week (plural weeks)
- Any period of seven consecutive days.
- 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
- Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
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- A period of seven days beginning with Sunday or Monday.
- A period of five days beginning with Monday.
- A subdivision of the month into longer periods of work days punctuated by shorter weekend periods of days for markets, rest, or religious observation such as a sabbath.
- A 4-day week consists of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Synonyms
- hebdomad (historical or Christianity), sennight (archaic)
Hypernyms
- time, day, month, year
Derived terms
- bush week
- five-day week
- for weeks on end
- from week to week
- Golden Week
- hell week
- Holy Week
- school week
- weekend
- week-long, weeklong
- weekly
- working week
- workweek
Translations
period of seven days
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See also
- (days of the week) day of the week; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday (Category: en:Days of the week) [edit]
- calendar
- Sabbath
Adjective
week (not comparable)
- (postpositive) Seven days after (sometimes before) a specified date.
- I'll see you Thursday week.– "I'll see you a week from Thursday."
Further reading
ISO 8601 on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch week, from Middle Dutch weke, from Old Dutch *wika, from Proto-Germanic *wikǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *weyg- (“to bend, wind, turn, yield”). Compare English week, West Frisian wike, German Woche.
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Noun
week (plural weke)
- week
- Daar is sewe dae in die week. ― There are seven days in the week.
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʋeːk/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: week
- Rhymes: -eːk
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch wēke, from Old Dutch *wika, from Proto-West Germanic *wikā, from Proto-Germanic *wikǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *weyg- (“to bend, wind, turn, yield”).
Noun
week f (plural weken, diminutive weekje n)
- week, period of seven days.
Derived terms
- feestweek
- van de week
- vakantieweek
- weekblad
- weekdag
- weekloon
- wekelijks
- werkweek
Descendants
- Afrikaans: week
- Berbice Creole Dutch: weki
- Jersey Dutch: wêk
- Negerhollands: week
- → Arawak: wiki
- →? Sranan Tongo: wiki
- → Aukan: wiki
- → Saramaccan: wíki
Etymology 2
From Middle Dutch wêec, from Old Dutch *wēk, from Proto-West Germanic *waikw, from Proto-Germanic *waikwaz.
Adjective
week (comparative weker, superlative weekst)
- soft, tender, fragile
- weak, gentle, weakhearted.
Inflection
| Inflection of week | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | week | |||
| inflected | weke | |||
| comparative | weker | |||
| positive | comparative | superlative | ||
| predicative/adverbial | week | weker | het weekst het weekste | |
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | weke | wekere | weekste |
| n. sing. | week | weker | weekste | |
| plural | weke | wekere | weekste | |
| definite | weke | wekere | weekste | |
| partitive | weeks | wekers | — | |
Antonyms
- hard
Derived terms
- weekdier
- weekhartig
- weekheid
- weke delen (in Dutch plurale tantum): soft tissues
- weken (verb)
Descendants
- Jersey Dutch: wîk
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
week
- first-person singular present indicative of weken
- imperative of weken
Verb
week
- singular past indicative of wijken
Anagrams
- kwee
- weke
Middle English
Noun
week
- Alternative form of weke (“week”)