weekend

See also: week-end

Alternative forms

week-end (dated)
w/e (occasional use)

Etymology

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

(UK) IPA^(key): /wiːˈkɛnd/, /ˈwiːˌkɛnd/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈwiˌkɛnd/
(New Zealand, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈwiːˌkend/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛnd, -iːkɛnd
Homophone: weakened (some accents)

Noun

weekend (plural weekends)

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

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

Related terms

weekday

Descendants

→ Arabic: ويكند
→ Armenian: վիքենդ (vikʻend)
→ Czech: víkend
→ Danish: weekend
→ French: weekend
→ German: Wochenende (calque)
→ Hungarian: víkend
→ Italian: weekend
→ Macedonian: викенд (vikend)
→ Dutch: weekend
→ Polish: weekend
→ Romanian: weekend
→ Russian: уик-энд (uik-end)
→ Serbo-Croatian: vìkend
→ Slovak: víkend
→ Swedish: weekend

Translations

break in the working week

Afrikaans: naweek
Albanian: fundjavë f, uikend m
Arabic: نِهَايَة الْأُسْبُوع f (nihāyat al-ʔusbūʕ), عَطْلَة الْأُسْبُوع f (ʕaṭlat al-ʔusbūʕ)
Gulf Arabic: ويكند m (wīkand)

Hijazi Arabic: ويكند m (wīkind), نهاية الأسبوع f (nihāyat al-ʔusbūʕ)

South Levantine Arabic: آخر الأسبوع m (ʔāḵer il-ʔusbūʕ), نهاية الأسبوع f (nihāyet il-ʔusbūʕ)
Armenian: շաբաթ-կիրակի (šabatʻ-kiraki), շաբաթվա վերջ (šabatʻva verǰ), ուիքենդ (uikʻend), վիքենդ (hy) (vikʻend), շաբաթավերջ (hy) (šabatʻaverǰ)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܘܼܠܵܡܵܐ ܕܫܵܒ݂ܘܿܥܵܐ m (šulāmā d-šāḇoʿā)
Azerbaijani: həftəsonu, altı-bazar
Basque: asteburu (eu), astebukaera (eu)
Belarusian: выхадны́я m pl (vyxadnýja), уік-э́нд m (uik-énd), кане́ц ты́дня m (kanjéc týdnja)
Breton: dibenn-sizhun m
Bulgarian: уике́нд (bg) m (uikénd), съ́бота и неде́ля (sǎ́bota i nedélja)
Burmese: အားလပ်ရက် (a:lap-rak)
Catalan: cap de setmana (ca) m
Chinese:
Cantonese: 週末 / 周末 (zau¹ mut⁶), 禮拜尾 / 礼拜尾 (lai⁵ baai³ mei⁵)

Hokkien: 週末 / 周末 (chiu-boa̍t)

Mandarin: 週末 / 周末 (zh) (zhōumò)
Czech: konec týdne m, víkend (cs) m
Danish: weekend (da) c
Dutch: weekend (nl) n, weekeinde (nl) n
Esperanto: semajnfino
Estonian: nädalavahetus (et)
Faroese: vikuskifti n
Finnish: viikonloppu (fi)
French: week-end (fr) m, weekend (fr) m, fin de semaine (fr) f (especially Canada)
Galician: fin de semana (gl) f, finde m (colloquial)
Georgian: უიკენდი (uiḳendi), შაბათ-კვირა (šabat-ḳvira)
German: Wochenende (de) n, Weekend (de) n (rare)
Greek: σαββατοκύριακο (el) n (savvatokýriako)
Greenlandic: weekendi
Hawaiian: hopena pule
Hebrew: סוֹף שָׁבוּעַ m (sof shavúa') (Friday and Saturday in Israel), סוֹפָ״שׁ m (sofá"sh), סופש m (sofash)
Hindi: सप्ताहांत m (saptāhānt), वीकेंड m (vīkeṇḍ)
Hungarian: hétvége (hu)
Hunsrik: Wochenn n
Icelandic: helgi (is) f
Indonesian: akhir pekan (id)
Irish: deireadh seachtaine m
Italian: weekend (it) m, fine settimana (it) m or f
Japanese: 週末 (ja) (しゅうまつ, shūmatsu), 土日 (ja) (どにち, donichi)
Kazakh: демалыс күндері (demalys künderı), уик-энд (uik-énd)
Khmer: ចុងអាទិត្យ (cong ʼaatɨt)
Korean: 주말(週末) (ko) (jumal)
Kyrgyz: демалыш күндөрү (demalış kündörü)
Ladino: fin de semana
Lao: ທ້າຍສັບປະດາ (thāi sap pa dā)
Latgalian: nedeļgols m
Latvian: vīkends (lv) m
Lithuanian: savaitgalis m
Macedonian: викенд m (vikend)
Malay: hujung minggu (ms)
Malayalam: വാരാന്ത്യം (ml) (vārāntyaṁ)
Maltese: tmiem il-ġimgħa m
Maori: mutunga wiki, wīkene
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: амралтын өдөр (mn) (amraltyn ödör)
Navajo: Damóo yázhí dóó Damóo
Norwegian:
Bokmål: helg m or f

Nynorsk: helg f
Occitan: dimenjada (oc) f
Pannonian Rusyn: викенд m (vikend)
Persian: آخر هفته (âxer-e hafte)
Plautdietsch: Wäakjenenj
Polish: weekend (pl) m inan, koniec tygodnia m
Portuguese: final de semana (pt), fim de semana (pt)
Romanian: sfârșit de săptămână n, weekend n
Russian: уик-э́нд (ru) m (uik-énd), выходны́е (ru) m pl (vyxodnýje), коне́ц неде́ли m (konéc nedéli), суббо́та и воскресе́нье (subbóta i voskresénʹje)
Samoan: fa'ai'uga o (sm) vāiaso
Scottish Gaelic: deireadh-seachdain m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: вѝкенд m

Roman: vìkend (sh) m
Slovak: víkend (sk) m, koniec týždňa m
Slovene: vikend m, konec tedna m
Sotho: wikente
Spanish: fin de semana (es) m, finde (es) m (colloquial)
Sranan Tongo: wikènt
Swahili: wikendi (sw)
Swedish: helg (sv) c, veckoslut (sv) n, weekend (sv) c
Tajik: охири ҳафта (oxir-i hafta)
Tetum: semana rohan
Thai: สุดสัปดาห์ (sùt-sàp-daa), วัน สุดสัปดาห์ (wan sùt-sàp-daa)
Tongan: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: hafta sonu (tr)
Ukrainian: вихідні́ m pl (vyxidní), уїк-е́нд m (ujik-énd), кіне́ць ти́жня m (kinécʹ týžnja)
Urdu: ہفتے کے آخر (hafte ke āxir), اختتام ہفتہ (ixtatām-e-hafta), آخر ہفتہ (āxir-e-hafta), ختم ہفتہ (xatam-e-hafta), ہفتے کا اختتام (hafte kā ixtatām)
Uzbek: hafta oxiri
Vietnamese: cuối tuần (vi)
Welsh: penwythnos (cy) m
Yiddish: סוף־וואָך m (sof-vokh)

Verb

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

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

Adjective

weekend (not comparable)

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

Translations

of, relating to or for the weekend

Esperanto: semajnfina
Faroese: vikuskiftis-
Finnish: viikonloppu-, viikonloppuinen
Hungarian: hétvégi (hu)
Macedonian: ви́кенд- (víkend-)
Polish: weekendowy (pl)
Slovak: víkendový

occurring at the weekend

Esperanto: semajnfina
Faroese: vikuskiftis-
Finnish: viikonloppuinen
Hungarian: hétvégi (hu)
Macedonian: ви́кенд- (víkend-)
Polish: weekendowy (pl)
Slovak: víkendový

References

[1]
Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “weekend”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
[2]
weekend, week-end at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.

Etymology

Borrowed from English weekend.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

weekend c (singular definite weekenden, plural indefinite weekender)

weekend

Inflection

More information common gender, Singular ...

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	weekend	weekenden	weekender	weekenderne
genitive	weekends	weekendens	weekenders	weekendernes

Close

Declension of weekend

Etymology

Borrowed from English weekend.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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

weekend

Synonyms

weekeinde

Etymology

Borrowed from English weekend.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wi.kɛnd/
Audio: (file)

Noun

weekend m (plural weekends)

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

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

weekend

Wikipedia ^it

Alternative forms

week-end

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English weekend.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wiˈkɛnd/^[1]
Rhymes: -ɛnd

Noun

weekend m (invariable)

weekend
Synonym: fine settimana

References

[1]
week-end in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

weekend

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English weekend.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈwi.kɛnt/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ikɛnt
Syllabification: wee‧kend

Noun

weekend m inan (related adjective weekendowy)

weekend (break in the working week)
Synonym: dwudzionek

Declension

More information singular, plural ...

	singular	plural
nominative	weekend	weekendy
genitive	weekendu	weekendów
dative	weekendowi	weekendom
accusative	weekend	weekendy
instrumental	weekendem	weekendami
locative	weekendzie	weekendach
vocative	weekendzie	weekendy

Close

Declension of weekend

Derived terms

(noun):

weekendowicz

(verb):

weekendować impf

Related terms

(adverb):

weekendowo

Alternative forms

week-end — dated

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English weekend. First attested in 1970.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈuj.kend/, /ˈwi.kend/
Hyphenation: week‧end
Rhymes: -ujkend, -ikend

Noun

weekend n (plural weekenduri)

weekend

Declension

More information singular, plural ...

	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
	singular		plural
nominative-accusative	weekend	weekendul	weekenduri	weekendurile
genitive-dative	weekend	weekendului	weekenduri	weekendurilor
vocative	weekendule		weekendurilor

Close

References

weekend in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Etymology

From English weekend.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wiːk.ɛnd/, /viːk.ɛnd/

Noun

weekend c

a weekend (break in the working week)

Declension

More information nominative, genitive ...

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	weekend	weekends
singular	definite	weekenden	weekendens
plural	indefinite	weekender	weekenders
plural	definite	weekenderna	weekendernas

Close

Declension of weekend

Synonyms

References

[1] [1]
Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “weekend”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[2] [2]
weekend, week-end at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.

[3] [1]
week-end in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

[1]

[2]

[1]

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

Adjective

Translations

References

Further reading

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Inflection

See also

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

References

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Synonyms

References

English

Danish

Dutch

French

Italian

Polish

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Swedish