Ash Wednesday

English

Alternative forms

• Ashwednesday, Ash-Wednesday

Etymology

From Middle English Aschewednysday, Axwednesdai, from asshe, axe (“ash”) + Wednesdai, Wednysday (“Wednesday”), from the custom of using the blessed ashes of the previous year's palm fronds (cf. Palm Sunday) to mark the heads of the congregation on the day. By surface analysis, ash +‎ Wednesday.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /æʃ wɛnz.dɛɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

Ash Wednesday (plural Ash Wednesdays)

1. (Christianity) The Wednesday 46 days before Easter in a given year, (Catholicism) traditionally observed as the beginning of Lent and a day of strict abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
   • 1834, Penny Cyclopaedia, volume II, page 454:

     Pope Gregory the Great introduced the sprinkling of ashes... which gave it the name of Ash-Wednesday.

2. (cocktail) A cocktail made from a mix of gin, heavy cream, honey syrup, and blackberries

Derived terms

• Ash Monday

Translations

the Christian day of penitence 46 days before Easter

• Armenian: Մոխրոտ չորեքշաբթի (Moxrot čʻorekʻšabtʻi)
• Basque: Hausterre-egun
• Catalan: Dimecres de cendra m
• Cebuano: Miyerkoles sa Badlis
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大齋首日 / 大斋首日 (dàzhāi-shǒurì), 聖灰星期三 / 圣灰星期三 (shèng-huī-xīngqīsān)

• Czech: Popeleční středa (cs) f
• Danish: askeonsdag c
• Dutch: Aswoensdag (nl) m
• Faroese: øskudagur m
• Finnish: tuhkakeskiviikko
• French: mercredi des Cendres (fr)
• German: Aschermittwoch (de) m
• Greek: πρώτη Τετάρτη της Σαρακοστής f (próti Tetárti tis Sarakostís)
• Hungarian: hamvazószerda (hu)
• Indonesian: Rabu Abu
• Irish: Céadaoin an Luaithrigh f
• Italian: Mercoledì delle Ceneri m, Ceneri (it) f pl
• Japanese: 灰の水曜日 (ja) (はいのすいようび, hai-no suiyōbi)
• Kashubian: Pòpielnô Strzoda f
• Korean: 재의 수요일 (jae'ui suyoil)
• Latin: Diēs Cinerum m, fēria quārta cinerum f
• Latvian: Pelnu diena f
• Malay: Rabu Abu (ms)
• Maltese: l-Erbgħa ta’ l-Irmied, Ras ir-Randan
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: askeonsdag m

  Nynorsk: oskeonsdag m

• Polish: Środa Popielcowa (pl) f, Popielec (pl) m
• Portuguese: quarta-feira de cinzas (pt) f
• Russian: Пе́пельная среда́ f (Pépelʹnaja sredá)
• Scottish Gaelic: Diciadain na Luathadh m
• Sicilian: mèrcuri dî cìnniri m
• Slovak: Popolcová streda f, Škaredá streda f (colloquially)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: šwigawa f

• Spanish: miércoles de ceniza m
• Swahili: Jumatano ya Majivu
• Swedish: askonsdag (sv) c
• Tagalog: Miyerkoles ng Abo
• Welsh: Mercher y Lludw m
• Yola: die oaskean

References

• “asshe-wednesdai, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018.