Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe day of the week after Wednesday and before Friday.
nounThe fifth day of the week in many religious traditions, and the fourth day of the week in systems using the ISO 8601 norm; it follows Wednesday and precedes Friday.
Sentence Examples
The meeting is to be held next Thursday.
The phone number for the Thursday evening phone conference is 415-904-8873.
Thursday, we will go to a swimming pool.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Our weekly team meeting is always held on ____, the day right after Wednesday.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Our weekly meeting has been moved to ____ this week because the manager is away on business on Friday today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English Thursday, Thuresday, from Old English þursdæġ, þuresdæġ (“Thursday”), possibly from a contraction of þunresdæġ (“Thursday”, literally “Thor's day”), but more likely of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse þórsdagr; all from Proto-West Germanic *Þunras dag (“day of the thunder god”). Compare West Frisian tongersdei, German Low German Dunnersdag, Dutch donderdag, German Donnerstag, Danish torsdag. More at thunder, day.
A calque of Latin diēs Iovis (diēs Jovis), via an association (interpretātiō germānica) of the god Thor with the Roman god of thunder Jove (Jupiter).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Cap[ulet]. […] If vve ſhould reuell much, therefore vve vvill haue / Some halfe a dozen frends and make no more adoe. / But vvhat ſay you to Thurſday. / Par[is]. My Lorde I vviſhe that Thurſday vvere to morrovv."
— c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Juliet. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, published 1597, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:
"But for satisfaction pure and deep, for balance in pleasure and comfort, Thursday canʼt be beat."
— 1992, Toni Morrison, Jazz, Vintage (2016), page 50:
"Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday defended the code of conduct the Supreme Court created last year, but conceded there needs to be a way to enforce the rules for it to be more effective."
— 2024 July 25, Devan Cole, “Justice Elena Kagan says Supreme Court’s code of conduct needs an enforcement plan. Takeaways from her wide-ranging comments.”, in CNN: