weekend

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See also: week-end

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From week +‎ end. Originally a Northern England regionalism (see 1903 quotation), in more general use from late 19th century.[1][2] Compare Saterland Frisian Wiekeneende (weekend), West Frisian wykein (weekend), Dutch weekeinde (weekend), German Low German Wekenenn (weekend), German Wochenende (weekend).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

weekend (plural weekends)

  1. The break in the working week, usually two days including the traditional holy or sabbath day. Thus in western countries, Saturday and Sunday.
    • 1874 July–December, W. Senior, “With the Herring Fleet”, in The Gentleman's Magazine, page 704:
      “They can live upon barley-meal without a morsel of meat from week-end to week-end, can these miserable Sawnies,” quoth another.
    • 1903, Francis Markham with Sir Clements Robert Markham, Recollections of a town boy at Westminster, 1849–1855, page 34:
      [] often took a few boys down there for what we North Country folk call the week-end — Saturday and Sunday; it was also used as a sanatorium if required.
    • 1921 June 21, The Earl of Oxford and Asquith, K.G., chapter XX, in Memories and Reflections 1852–1927, volume 2, Cassell and Company, published 1928, →OCLC, page 197:
      I love a phrase of Dizzy's in one of his later letters to Lady Bradford, whom he reproaches for her addiction to what we now call week-end visits to country houses: “the monotony of organized platitude.”

Usage notes[edit]

  • Historically in North America and parts of Europe, people would often work on Saturday as well, or at least until noon on Saturday. Thus the “weekend” might begin at noon or later on Saturday in older texts.

To describe the soonest upcoming weekend:

  • (UK, Australia, New Zealand) “at the weekend”, “on the weekend”, “this weekend”, “for the weekend”
    • 1886, New Zealand Parliament, “Parliamentary debates”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 324, page 2371:
      Let them work at their ordinary jobs during the week, and then take them out of circulation at the weekend, which is usually the time when the trouble is ...
    • 2009, Great Britain House of Commons: Business and Enterprise Committee, “Pre-appointment Hearing with the Chairman-elect of Ofcom, Dr. Colette Bowe”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 16:
      Whether it is on the BBC, ITV or commercial radio does not really matter. ...can give you a radio example of two things I was listening to at the weekend.
  • (US, Canada) “on the weekend”, “this weekend”, “for the weekend” (“at the weekend” is not used)
    • 2002, United States Senate: Committee on Armed Services, Department of Defense authorization for appropriations for fiscal year 2002, page 722:
      I am going to Moscow on the weekend to participate in the discussion, ...

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

weekend (third-person singular simple present weekends, present participle weekending, simple past and past participle weekended)

  1. To spend the weekend.
    We'll weekend at the beach.

Adjective[edit]

weekend (not comparable)

  1. Of, relating to or for the weekend.
    I'm wearing my weekend shoes.
  2. Occurring at the weekend.
    a weekend break

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English weekend.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈʋiːˌɡ̊ɛnˀd̥], [ˈwiːˌɡ̊ɛnd̥]

Noun[edit]

weekend c (singular definite weekenden, plural indefinite weekender)

  1. weekend

Inflection[edit]

See also[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English weekend.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋikɛnt/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: week‧end

Noun[edit]

weekend n (plural weekenden or weekends, diminutive weekendje n)

  1. weekend

Synonyms[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English weekend.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

weekend m (plural weekends)

  1. post-1990 spelling of week-end
    Synonym: fin de semaine

Italian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English weekend.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

weekend m (invariable)

  1. weekend
    Synonym: fine settimana

References[edit]

  1. ^ week-end in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Polish[edit]

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English weekend.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

weekend m inan (related adjective weekendowy)

  1. weekend (break in the working week)
    Synonym: dwudzionek

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

noun
verb

Related terms[edit]

adverb

Further reading[edit]

  • weekend in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • weekend in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English weekend. First attested in 1970.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

weekend n (plural weekenduri)

  1. weekend

Declension[edit]

References[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English weekend.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /wiːk.ɛnd/, /viːk.ɛnd/

Noun[edit]

weekend c

  1. a weekend (break in the working week)

Declension[edit]

Declension of weekend 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative weekend weekenden weekender weekenderna
Genitive weekends weekendens weekenders weekendernas

Synonyms[edit]

References[edit]