tuesday

Tuesday is the second day of the week in many cultures where Monday is considered the first day. In the ISO-8601 system, which starts the week on Monday, Tuesday is the second day of the calendar week and the second day of the standard workweek. In calendars that begin on Sunday, Tuesday is the third day of the week.

Etymology and names in different languages reflect historical origins. The English name Tuesday derives from Old English Tiwesdæg, the day of the god Tiw (Tyr) in Germanic mythology. This is shared with other Germanic languages, such as Dutch dinsdag and German Dienstag, both linked to Tiw or Tyr. In Romance languages, the day is named after Mars: French mardi, Spanish martes, Italian martedì, Portuguese terça-feira, Romanian marți. In several Slavic and Caucasian languages, the name for Tuesday points to the notion of a second day or the second day of the week (for example Russian vtóryi, Polish wtorek, Ukrainian vtóryj den).

Cultural notes and associations vary by region. Some cultures mark Tuesday the 13th as unlucky, notably in Spain and Greece, while Friday the 13th is more commonly feared in Anglo-American contexts. In Greek, Tuesday is called Tríti, meaning “third day,” reflecting a different ordinal counting of the week. The day also appears in modern culture in expressions and traditions, and it is the origin of the term Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) in Romance-language areas.

Overall, Tuesday serves as a practical reference point in calendars, scheduling, and cultural traditions across many languages and regions.