Maundy Thursday

English

Etymology

From Middle English Maunde Þursday (“Holy Thursday”), equivalent to maundy +‎ Thursday. Middle English maundy derives from Old French mandé, from Latin mandātum, in reference to the phrase mandātum novum dō vōbīs (“a new commandment I give unto you”).

Proper noun

Maundy Thursday

1. The Thursday before Easter, which commemorates the Last Supper.
   • 1960, Alfred Lewis Shoemaker, Eastertide in Pennsylvania: A Folk-Cultural Study, published 2000, page 13:

     The dialect name for Maundy Thursday, Grie(ner)-Durmerschdawg (Green Thursday, literally), is in very large part responsible for the basic lore that attaches to this day: One must eat something green on this day. […] Failure to eat something green on Maundy Thursday had dire consequences, according to the folk mind: One would get the itch, one would become lousy, or as a York County informant put it, "Mer iss s gans yawr uff em aisel." (One will be a mule all year long.)

   • 2002, Steven Molin, Journey Of Stones: A Sermon Series For Lent And Easter‎^[1], page 47:

     It is the tradition among Christians in Africa on Maundy Thursday that, before the sacrament of Holy Communion is served, worshipers move about the sanctuary and seek forgiveness from everyone they have hurt or offended or sinned against — known or unknown — in recent months.

   • 2011, Donald K. McKim, More Presbyterian Questions, More Presbyterian Answers: Exploring Christian Faith‎^[2], page 42:

     Most Presbyterian churches have an evening service on Maundy Thursday that includes the celebration of the Lord's Supper.

Usage notes

Holy Thursday is more commonly used in Ireland, Scotland, Canada and the United States, and is the official name used by the Catholic Church in English.

Synonyms

• Covenant Thursday
• Great and Holy Thursday
• Green Thursday (especially in a German-speaking context)
• Holy Thursday
• Sheer Thursday
• Thursday of Mysteries
• White Thursday

Related terms

• Maundy money

Translations

Thursday before Easter

• Armenian: Ավագ հինգշաբթի (Avag hingšabtʻi)
• Basque: Ostegun Santua
• Bulgarian: Велики Четвъртък m (Veliki Četvǎrtǎk)
• Catalan: dijous Sant m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 濯足節 / 濯足节 (zhuózújié)

• Czech: Zelený čtvrtek (cs) m
• Danish: skærtorsdag (da)
• Dutch: Witte Donderdag (nl) m
• Esperanto: sankta ĵaŭdo
• Estonian: suur neljapäev
• Faroese: skírisdagur m
• Finnish: kiirastorstai (fi)
• Franco-Provençal: Jofs Saint m
• French: Jeudi saint (fr)
• Galician: Xoves Santo m
• Georgian: დიდი ხუთშაბათი (didi xutšabati)
• German: Gründonnerstag (de) m
• Greek: Μεγάλη Πέμπτη (el) f (Megáli Pémpti)
• Hungarian: nagycsütörtök (hu)
• Icelandic: skírdagur (is) m, (archaic) skíri Þórsdagur m, (archaic) skíri dagur m
• Indonesian: Kamis Putih
• Irish: Déardaoin Mandála m
• Italian: Giovedì santo m
• Latin: dies cenae Domini f
• Latvian: Zaļā Ceturtdiena
• Lithuanian: Didžiojo ketvirtadienio
• Low German:

  German Low German: Gröndunnersdag, Grööndunnersdag m, Grööndunnerdag m, Grööndonnersdag m, Grööndonnerdag m, Greundunnerdag m

• Malay: Khamis Suci
• Malayalam: പെസഹാ വ്യാഴം (pesahā vyāḻaṁ)
• Maltese: Ħamis ix-Xirka
• Manx: Jerdein Caisht m, Jerdein Casherick m, Jerdein Chorp Chreest m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skjærtorsdag m

  Nynorsk: skjærtorsdag m

• Old Norse: skíriþórsdagr m
• Polish: Wielki Czwartek (pl) m
• Portuguese: Quinta-Feira Santa f, Quinta-feira de Endoenças f
• Romanian: Joia Mare (ro) f
• Russian: Страстной четве́рг (Strastnoj četvérg), Великий четве́рг (ru) (Velikij četvérg)
• Scots: Guid Thuirsday, Skyre Thuirsday
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Велики четвртак m

  Roman: Veliki četvrtak (sh) m

• Slovak: Zelený štvrtok m, Veľký štvrtok m
• Slovene: Veliki četrtek m
• Spanish: Jueves Santo m
• Swedish: skärtorsdag (sv) c
• Tagalog: Huwebes Santo
• Tamil: வியாகுல வியாழன் (viyākula viyāḻaṉ)
• Welsh: dydd Iau Cablyd m