ENGLISH
REFERENCE

week

n. countable
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈwik// UK //wˈiːk// week General-service

n. a period of seven days in a row. It usually starts on Monday and ends on Sunday.

n. a period of seven consecutive days, typically beginning on Sunday or Monday depending on the regional calendar.


SIMPLE

I work five days every week.

CONTEXTUAL

The team meets once a week to discuss their progress and plan for the next few days.

COMPLEX

Although the project was scheduled to take a full month, the efficient collaboration of the staff allowed for its completion within a single week.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English wyke, weke, from Old English wiċe, wucu (“week”), from Proto-West Germanic wikā, from Proto-Germanic wikǭ (“sequence; week”), from Proto-Indo-European weyg-, weyk- (“to bend, curve”). Related to Proto-Germanic *wīkaną (“to bend, yield, cease”). Cognates Cognate with Scots ouk, oulk (“week”), Yola wick, wik (“week”), North Frisian waag, Week, weg (“week”), Saterland Frisian Wiek, Wíek (“week”), West Frisian wike (“week”), Bavarian Wochn (“week”), Cimbrian boch, bòcha (“week”), Dutch week (“week”), German Woche (“week”), German Low German Week (“week”), Limburgish waek, Wéëk (“week”), Luxembourgish Woch (“week”), Mòcheno boch (“week”), Vilamovian woch (“week”), Yiddish וואָך (vokh, “week”), Danish uge (“week”), Elfdalian wiku, wikå (“week”), Faroese and Icelandic vika (“week”), Jamtish vuku (“week”), Norwegian Bokmål uke (“week”), Norwegian Nynorsk veke, vika, viku, vukku, vuku (“week”), Scanian uga (“week”), Swedish vecka (“week”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌺𐍉 (wikō, “sequence; week”); also Cornish gwigh (“periwinkles, whelks”), Irish faocha, faochóg (“periwinkle”), Latin vicis (“alteration, turn; time”), Ancient Greek εἴκω (eíkō, “to yield”), Albanian vig (“bier, litter, stretcher”), Northern Kurdish avêtin, avitin, avîtin, havêtin, havîtin (“to cast, hurl, throw”), Persian آویختَن (âvixtan, “to hang, suspend”), بیختن (bēxtan / bixtan, “to sieve, sift”). Related also to Old English wīcan (“to yield, give way”), English weak and wick.

Etymology 2

Imitative.

Usage

Often used with the preposition 'per' or 'a' to indicate frequency, such as 'twice a week'.

Idioms7 entries

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