Septimana

Septimana is a Latin noun meaning a seven-day period, i.e., a week. It derives from septimus, meaning seventh, with a suffix that forms time-related terms. The word appears in classical and later Latin to denote a period of seven days and is the historical root of related terms in other languages and in scholarly usage.

In classical Latin, the concept of a fixed seven-day week was not as standardized as in later Europe, but septimana was used to indicate a week-long interval or a seven-day span. In ecclesiastical and medieval Latin, septimana became the common term for a week and is found in liturgical contexts and calendar-related writings. It is also used in reference to specific weeks within the Christian liturgical year, such as holy or i.e., significant seven-day periods within the season.

Today, septimana is largely encountered in scholarly, historical, or liturgical discussion. In modern Romance and other languages, the everyday word for week is typically a form of sette/semana/settimana or a native equivalent (for example Italian settimana, Spanish semana, Romanian săptămână), while septimana remains more archaic or literary. The term also appears in dictionaries and etymological discussions as the historical source for related concepts and for tracing the Latin roots of calendar vocabulary. Related terms include septenary, referring to seven in quantity or divisions, and septennial, referring to a period of seven years, both derived from the same Latin root.