Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In countries which have Friday as their holiday, Wednesday is the fifth day of the week. In countries which use the Sunday-first convention, and in both the Islamic and Jewish calendars, Wednesday is the fourth day of the week.
In English, the name is derived from Old English Wōdnesdæg and Middle English Wednesdei, 'day of Woden', reflecting the religion practiced by the Anglo-Saxons, the English equivalent to the Norse god Odin. In some other languages, such as the French mercredi, Spanish miércoles or Italian mercoledì, the day's name is a calque of Latin dies Mercurii 'day of Mercury'.
Wednesday is in the middle of the common Western five-day workweek that starts on Monday and finishes on Friday.