Names of Days of the Week in Tigrinya and Their Meaning

The days of the week in Tigrinya and their meaning is as follows:

1st day: Sémbét (ሰምበት). It’s full name is “Sémbété Kristiyan” (ሰምበተ ክርስትያን), which means Christian Sabbath. However, it is popularly called just “Sémbét”. The term is derived from the Hebrew word “shavat” or “Shabbat”, which means to “cease,” or “desist”,¹ that is to rest. So “Sémbété Kristiyan” means the day that Christians decease (take rest) from all their labors.

Moreover, the day was previously called “Ehud” (እሑድ).² In fact, in Amharic, it is still named “Ehud”. The word came from the Geez word አሐደ (akhadé). It translates into “the first” or “the beginning”. It was named “ehud” for the biblical fact that God began his work on the creation on this day.³

2nd day: Sénuy (ሰኑይ). The term is derived from the Geez word ሰነየ (sénéyé), which means “the second” or “the companion”. As this day follows up the first day Sémbét, it seconds it or keeps it company, which makes it to be called Sénuy. Besides, as the bible tells us, it is the 2nd day of creation.⁴

3rd day: Sélus (ሰሉስ). The name of this day came from the Geez word ሠለሰ (Sélésé), which means “the third”. Since the bible tells us that it is the third day of creation,⁵ it received the designation “sélus”.

4th day: Rébu’e (ረቡዕ). The term is derived from the Geez word ረብዐ (réb’é), which translates into “the fourth”. It was called Rébu’e” because it is the fourth day of creation.⁶

5th day: Khamus (ሓሙስ). The term evolved from the Geez word ኃመሰ (Khamésé), which means “the fifth”. It was named “Khamus” since it is the fifth day of creation.⁷

6th day: Arbi (ዓርቢ). The name is derived from the Geez word ዓርበ (arbé), which translates into “to finish” or “the end”. It received this designation because God finished all his work of creation on the sixth day.⁸

7th day: Qedam (ቀዳም). The full name of the day is “Qedami/Qedamit Sémbét” (ቀዳሚ/ቀዳሚት ሰምበት). But it is popularly called just “Qedam” (ቀዳም). The terms “qedam”, “qedami” and “qedamit” are derived from the Geez word ቀደመ (qédémé), and they translate into “the first”, “the earlier” or “the prior”. It is called “Qedam” (“Qedami/Qedamit Sémbét”) because first, it is the original day of rest on which God rested after accomplishing all his works of creation.⁹ Second, because it is the first Sabbath that was sanctified and established as the day of rest by Jehovah prior to Sunday Sabbath of the church.¹⁰

Reference Notes

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica (2024) Sabbath | History, Meaning & Observance. Accessed 13/02/2024. ↩︎
2. Weld-Blundell, Herbert Joseph (1922) The Royal Chronicle of Abbysinia, 1769-1840. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. ↩︎
3. The Book of Genesis 1:5. ↩︎
4. The Book of Genesis 1:8. ↩︎
5. The Book of Genesis 1:13. ↩︎
6. The Book of Genesis 1:19. ↩︎
7. The Book of Genesis 1:23. ↩︎
8. The Book of Genesis 1:31. ↩︎
9. The Book of Genesis 2:2. ↩︎
10. The Book of Genesis 2:3. ↩︎