Sunday

Sunday

See also: sunday

English

Etymology

From Middle English Sonday, from Old English sunnandæġ, from Proto-West Germanic *Sunnōn dag (literally “day of the Sun”), equivalent to sun +‎ day, as a calque (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Sōlis; declared the "venerable day of the sun" by Roman Emperor Constantine on March 7, 321 C.E.

Compare Saterland Frisian Sundai (“Sunday”), German Low German Sünndag, Dutch zondag, West Frisian snein, German Sonntag, Danish søndag.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: sŭnʹdā, sŭnʹdē, IPA(key): /ˈsʌn.deɪ/, /ˈsʌn.di/
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • (Northern England) IPA(key): /ˈsʊn.deɪ/
  • Homophones: sundae, sandhi
  • Hyphenation: Sun‧day
  • Rhymes: -ʌndeɪ, -ʌndi

Noun

Sunday (plural Sundays)

  2. The first day of the week in many religious traditions, and the seventh day of the week in systems using the ISO 8601 standard; the Christian Sabbath; the Lord's Day; it follows Saturday and precedes Monday.
    Synonym: (Quakerism) First Day
    • 1988, Morrissey, “Everyday Is Like Sunday”, in Viva Hate:
      Every day is like Sunday / Every day is silent and grey
    • 2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport‎[1]:
      And after missing a simple header in the first half, the Manchester United striker ensured England topped Group D to set up a quarter-final meeting with Italy in Kiev on Sunday.
    • 2019 August 16, Daniel Burke, “How Pete Buttigieg found God”, in CNN‎[2], archived from the original on 22 October 2021:
      But on that Sunday it was filled with Episcopalians from around the country who had traveled to South Bend to attend his campaign launch.
  3. (informal) A newspaper published on Sunday.
    • 1974, John le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy:
      I gave him the switchboard with my love, went down to the Savoy for breakfast and read the Sundays.
  4. (informal) A comic strip published in a Sunday newspaper.
    • 2017, Mark Arnold, Pocket Full of Dennis the Menace:
      It just wasn't his thing, although he did beautiful Sundays for however long he did them. So as soon as he could, he hired someone to do the Sundays. Karen and I would do some dailies, but we were the Sunday artists.
  5. (informal, attributive) Describes someone who does something occasionally or casually, and therefore without skill.
    • 2010 November 9, Rosemary Wells, On the Blue Comet, Candlewick Press, →ISBN, page 113:
      Your face is the color of a Sunday swimmer who swallowed half the pool.
    • 2010 March 30, Lance Armstrong, Every Second Counts, Random House, →ISBN, page 51:
      My limbs felt hollow, empty. Empty, empty, empty. A Sunday cyclist on a casual ride could have passed me.
    • 2010 December 15, Peter Everett, Matisse's War, Random House, →ISBN:
      Below, a Sunday painter dabs at a canvas near the Pont Neuf, his suit as natty as any Landru wore. He tilts his bowler hat and steps back to view his efforts. 'What is a Sunday painter?' Matisse says aloud. 'When we start, we are all Sunday painters.'
    • 2016 January 18, Renars Sidrabs, Memoirs of a Drunk, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:
      If he even tries it, then his addiction will take over again. An alcoholic can never become a “Sunday drinker”.
  6. (informal, attributive) Describes something particularly fine and elegant, particularly something that could be worn to or used at church.
    • 2002, Emanuel Zeylmans, Willem Zeylmans Van Emmichoven: An Inspiration for Anthroposophy : a Biography, Temple Lodge Publishing, →ISBN, page 9:
      His father replies with a special tone of voice (his 'Sunday voice', which he also used for reading fairy tales): 'That is about the tragedy of human beings!'
    • 2010, Marion Houldsworth, The Morning Side of the Hill, Boolarong Press, →ISBN, page 150:
      It landed on the wire mesh in front of me, thrust its thin, monkey-arm through the wire, seized my Sunday hat, blue satin ribbons, rosettes and all, and squealing in triumph made off with it, leaping and bounding, to the top of the monkey-tree.
    • 2011 April 29, Tommy Chamberlain, A Spoon Full of Sugar, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 6:
      On the day of the show I decided to wear my good blue Sunday suit, even though Ms. Arnoldi had prescribed flannel shirts, boots, and jeans for all the boys.

Synonyms

  • Sun, Sun. (abbreviations)
  • the Lord's day

Symbols

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Pichinglis: sɔ́nde
  • Sranan Tongo: sonde
  • Tok Pisin: sande
  • → Choctaw: Sʋnti
  • → Klamath-Modoc: sandi
  • → Luganda: sande

Translations

Verb

Sunday (third-person singular simple present Sundays, present participle Sundaying, simple past and past participle Sundayed)

  1. (intransitive, informal) To spend Sunday (at a certain place, with a certain person or people, etc.).
    • 1910, Arthur B. Reeve, The Silent Bullet‎[3], section III:
      I waded through accounts of new calves and colts, new fences and barns, who “Sundayed” with his brother, etc., and soon had a list of all the cases in that part of the country.
    • 1944, Emily Carr, “Kipling”, in The House of All Sorts‎[4]:
      The dogs and I were Sundaying on the garden lawn.
    • 2016, Brian Finnegan, “Your Sunday Best,” in totallydublin.ie,[5]
      When we’re Sundaying in the city, I like nothing better than to roll out of bed and head straight for Noshington on the corner of South Circular Road and Washington Street, for one of their hugely satisfying weekend brunch options.

Adverb

Sunday (not comparable)

  1. (US, Canada, informal in UK) On Sunday.

Translations

See also

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