<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Lucida Sans’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Could you tell me who had the power to change the spelling of Wednesday, the fourth day of the week, and his reasoning for it?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The names attached to the d</span><span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">ays of the week in English aren’t the handiwork of one person, but the product of linguistic adaptation and evolution.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The ancient Romans named their days after planets, and the planets bore the names of gods.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The first and second days — “dies Solis” and “dies Lunae” — were named after the sun and the moon. The Romans called the third day “dies Martis,” a reference to Mars, their god of war, and the fourth day</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“dies Mercurii,” a reference to Mercury, the gods’ messenger.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The fifth day was named “dies Jovis,” after Jupiter, king of the gods, and the sixth day, “dies Veneris,” was named after Venus, the goddess of love. The Romans named the seventh day “dies Saturni,” after Saturn, the god of agriculture.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The Latin terms are evident today in Romance languages</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">such as French, Italian and Spanish, except for two days — the first and the last. Those days took on Judeo-Christian meanings, referring to God and the sabbath.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">For example, the days of the week in Spanish, from Sunday to Saturday: domingo; lunes; martes; mi?rcoles; jueves; viernes; and s?bado.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">In giving names to the days of the week, the Anglo-Saxons — Germanic peoples who migrated to Britain — took their cue from the Romans but looked to more familiar gods, except in one case.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The first day became “Sunnandaeg,” or “Sun’s day,” which evolved into Sunday. The second day became “Monandaeg,” or “Moon’s day,” which has since become Monday. And the third day became “Tiwesdaeg,” a reference to Tiw, a war god — hence, Tuesday.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The fourth day became “Wodnesdaeg,” or “Woden’s day,” a reference to Woden, or Odin, who, like Mercury, guided people’s souls after their death. The fifth day became “Thunresdaeg,” or “Thor’s day,” a reference to the Norse thunder god, who, like Jupiter, ruled over the sky.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The sixth day became “Frigedaeg,” or “Frigga’s day,” which referred to the Norse equivalent of Venus and the wife of Odin. The seventh day — well, it remained “Saturn’s</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">day,” which the Anglo-Saxons called “Saeturnesdaeg.”</span>

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<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Online:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">www.etymonline.com.</span>

<span class="R~sep~AHeadBrief">Russert resigned from NBC in July</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Lucida Sans’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">What happened to Luke Russert, the journalist that was on MSNBC at one time?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Russert, the son of late political reporter and “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert, resigned from NBC a few months ago.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“It’s fair to say my broadcast career began in an unusual way after college graduation and the death of my father,”</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">he said in a statement posted to Twitter on July 13.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“As a result, I threw myself into the work and never took the time to reflect, to travel and to experience many things that would have given me a clearer sense of what my future should be. Now at 30, I look forward to taking some time away from political reporting and focusing my efforts on other endeavors that I have long wanted to pursue.”</span>

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<span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">The I</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">nform</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">er answers questions from rea</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">ders each Sunday, Monday a</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">nd Wednesday. It is re</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">searched and written by</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Andrew Perzo</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">, an</span> <span style="font-style: italic; font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">American Press</span> <span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">staff wri</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">ter. To ask a question, call</span> <span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">494-409</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">8 and leave voice mail, or ema</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">il informer@americanpress.com.</span>