week meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

week

noun

/wiːk/ · [ˈwɪi̯k]

Etymology

From Middle English wyke, weke, from Old English wiċe, wucu (“week”), from Proto-West Germanic *wikā, from Proto-Germanic *wikǭ (“sequence; week”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyg-, *weyk- (“to bend, curve”). Related to weak and dialectal English wick (“corner”); see Proto-Germanic *wīk(w)aną (“to bend, yield, cease”). Cognates Cognate with Scots ouk, oulk (“week”), Yola wick, wik (“week”), North Frisian waag, Week, weg (“week”), Saterland Frisian Wiek, Wíek (“week”), West Frisian wike (“week”), Bavarian Wochn (“week”), Cimbrian boch, bòcha (“week”), Dutch week (“week”), German Woche (“week”), German Low German Week (“week”), Limburgish waek, Wéëk (“week”), Luxembourgish Woch (“week”), Mòcheno boch (“week”), Vilamovian woch (“week”), Yiddish וואָך (vokh, “week”), Danish uge (“week”), Elfdalian wiku, wikå (“week”), Faroese and Icelandic vika (“week”), Jamtish vuku (“week”), Norwegian Bokmål uke (“week”), Norwegian Nynorsk veke, vika, viku, vukku, vuku (“week”), Scanian uga (“week”), Swedish vecka (“week”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌺𐍉 (wikō, “sequence; week”); also Cornish gwigh (“periwinkles, whelks”), Irish faocha, faochóg (“periwinkle”), Latin vicis (“alteration, turn; time”), Ancient Greek εἴκω (eíkō, “to yield”), Albanian vig (“bier, litter, stretcher”), Northern Kurdish avêtin, avitin, avîtin, havêtin, havîtin (“to cast, hurl, throw”), Persian آویختَن (âvixtan, “to hang, suspend”), بیختن (bēxtan / bixtan, “to sieve, sift”). Related also to Old English wīcan (“to yield, give way”), English weak and wick.

Any period of seven consecutive days.

Holonyms: megasecond < fortnight < month < year < gigasecond < century < kiloannum, kiloyear, millennium < terasecond < mega-annum, megayear < petasecond < giga-annum, gigayear < exasecond < zettasecond < yottasecond < ronnasecond < quettasecond
Meronyms: quectosecond < rontosecond < yoctosecond < zeptosecond < attosecond < femtosecond < picosecond < nanosecond < microsecond < millisecond < centisecond < decisecond < second < decasecond < minute < hectosecond < kilosecond < hour < day, weekday < weekend

2 more examples

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.2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, archived from the original on 01 May 2024, page 68:
Some of the same areas hit by tornadoes just a little over a week ago are expecting severe storms again Monday afternoon and evening.2024 May 5, Allison Chinchar, “Multiday severe weather threat could continue tornado streak this week”, in CNN, archived from the original on 15 May 2024:

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.

A date seven days after (sometimes before) the specified day.

Following a named day

I'll see you Thursday week. [a week on Thursday, i.e. Thursday after next]
The wedding is tomorrow week. [a week tomorrow, i.e. in eight days' time]

Synonyms: hebdomad, sennight, sevennight, week
Derived terms: 76 terms
boxing week, bull week, bush week, coasties week, dead week, Ember week, fashion week, finals week, five-day week, four-day week, freshers' week, frosh week, Golden Week, hell week, Holy Week, leap week, leavers week, mid-week, midweek, noughth week, 0th week, orientation week, prophetic week, rag week, reading week, red week, revision week, schoolies week, school week, shark week, spirit week, technical week, tech week, the Three Weeks, week-end, weekend, white week, working week, workweek, week to week, last week, next week, this week, today week, tomorrow week, week-long, weeklong, weekly, yesterday week, any day of the week, any day of the week and twice on Sunday, any day of the week and twice on Sundays, as modern as next week, a week from next Tuesday, a week is a long time in politics, be born last week, every day of the week, every day of the week and twice on Sunday, every day of the week and twice on Sundays, flavor of the week, flavour of the week, for weeks on end, I'm here all week, knock someone into the middle of next week, modern as next week, monster of the week, next week, East Lynne, second Tuesday of the week, two week millionaire, two-week wait, villain of the week, week of Saturdays, week of Sundays, Festival of Weeks, light week, run of week
Related terms: calendar, Sabbath
Hypernyms: period
Hyponyms: 41 terms
0th week, boxing week, bull week, bush week, Ember week, dead week, fashion week, five-day week, freshers' week, frosh week, Gangtide, Golden Week, half term, hell week, holiweek, Holy Week, jobweek, leap week, March break, matchweek, May Week, next week, noughth week, orientation week, rag week, reading week, red week, revision week, Rogation Week, schoolies week, shark week, spirit week, swot vac, technical week, tech week, Whitsuntide, Whitweek, white week, working week, workweek, yesterweek
Holonyms: fortnight, halfmonth, month, year
Meronyms: day, midweek, weekday, weekend

week

intj

Etymology Imitative.

The squeal of a pig.

And ho, ho, ho, went Mister Pig, and week, week, week, went she; […]1837, William Evans Burton, Burton's Comic Songster, page 229:
[…] his head came a-top of one of a litter of young pigs that happened at that moment to be foraging about: week! week! week! week! week! cried little piggy.1848, The Garland, Or, Token of Friendship, page 231: