Tiwesdæg

Tiwesdæg, literally “Tiw’s day,” is the Old English name for Tuesday, the second day of the week in traditional English and in several other Germanic languages. It is named after Tiw (Old English Tiw/Týr), a god in Germanic mythology associated with law, war, and heroic deeds.

Etymology and cognates: The name derives from the Proto-Germanic theonym *Tiwaz, linked to the Norse god Týr. The English form Tiwesdæg survives in modern discussions of historical calendars, and related Germanic languages broadly honor the same god in their own day-name traditions. In other Germanic languages the day has cognate forms such as Tuesday in English and Danish, Norwegian, or German variants that trace back to the same Tyr/Tiw root.

Calendar context: In the Anglo-Saxon and medieval calendars, the week was commonly arranged with days named after celestial bodies or gods. Tiwesdæg followed Monandæg (Moon’s Day) in many version of the week, with subsequent days including Wōdnesdæg (Wednesday), Þunresdæg (Thursday), Frīgedæg (Friday), and Sæturnesdæg (Saturday). The exact ordering and starting point of the week varied by region and era.

Modern usage: Today, the form Tiwesdæg is primarily of linguistic or historical interest. The everyday English name is Tuesday, derived from Tiwesdæg through Middle English and into modern usage. The day-name tradition reflects broader Germanic influence on the week, with several languages retaining a Tyr/Tiw-based lineage in their own equivalents.