Samstag

German

Etymology

From Middle High German sameztac, samztac, from Old High German sambaztag (“Sabbath day”), from Gothic *𐍃𐌰𐌼𐌱𐌰𐍄𐍉 (*sambatō), an alteration (possibly dialectal) of earlier, Biblical 𐍃𐌰𐌱𐌱𐌰𐍄𐍉 (sabbatō). The altered Gothic form derives from Byzantine Greek *σάμβατον (*sámbaton, “Sabbath”). Compare French samedi, Old French sambedi, Romansch somda, Romanian sâmbătă, Hungarian szombat, Old Church Slavonic сѫбота (sǫbota). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzamstaːk/ (standard)

• Samstag

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• Audio

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• IPA^(key): /ˈzamstax/ (northern Germany and parts of central Germany; chiefly colloquial)
• IPA^(key): /ˈzamstaːx/ (parts of central Germany; chiefly colloquial)
• IPA^(key): /ˈsamstak/, (southern Germany, Austria, Bavaria)

Noun

Samstag m (strong, genitive Samstages or Samstags, plural Samstage)

1. (now dominant except in former East Germany) Saturday

Usage notes

Samstag is a common word for “Saturday” in western Germany, southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (in standard usage). See Sonnabend for information on this synonym.

Declension

Synonyms

• (eastern and, traditionally, northern Germany): Sonnabend

Hypernyms

• Tag

Derived terms

• samstags
• Karsamstag

See also

• Sabbat
• Sabbattag
• Schabbat
• (days of the week) Tage der Woche, Wochentage (im weiteren Sinne); Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag / Sonnabend, Sonntag ^{(Category: de:Days of the week)}

Further reading

• “Samstag” in Duden online
• “Samstag” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache