semanas

Semana is the Spanish word for a week, a time period of seven days. The term comes from Latin septimana, formed from septem 'seven' and a suffix indicating a measure of time.

A week typically runs for seven days in civil, religious, and commercial contexts. In most contemporary calendars the days of the week are named and ordered, with the week sometimes beginning on Sunday or Monday depending on culture. In the international standard ISO 8601, weeks start on Monday, and Week 1 is the week containing the year’s first Thursday (or January 4).

In Spanish-speaking cultures, common phrases include fin de semana for the weekend and Semana Santa for Holy Week in the spring, reflecting both social and liturgical uses. The concept of a week is used broadly to organize work schedules, school terms, holidays, and planning, and it plays a role in historical chronology and religious calendars.

Linguistic notes indicate that semana appears in many Romance languages with related forms, such as semaine in French, settimana in Italian, and semana in Portuguese, all tracing back to Latin septimana. The shared roots highlight how seven-day divisions have been a long-standing feature of calendars across different regions and eras.

See also: Week, Weekday, Calendar.