Sunday

SUN-day/ˈsʌn.deɪ/

7 meanings of Sunday

1
weekend daynouncountable
The day of the week that follows Saturday and precedes Monday, traditionally observed by Christians as a day of worship and rest.
Most shops in the town close early on Sunday.
She spends every Sunday hiking in the nearby hills.
UsageWrite it with a capital S. Say on Sunday, but next Sunday and last Sunday with no on.
Note
Where it falls depends on whose week you count. Many religious traditions make it the first day, while calendars following the ISO 8601 standard make it the seventh, so a numbered week ends on Sunday rather than starting there.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Many religious traditions count Sunday as the first day of the week. en.wikipedia.org
ISO 8601 makes Sunday the seventh and last day of the week. iho.int
2
on that dayadverbcolloquialCanadaUS
On Sunday; during the coming or most recent day that follows Saturday.
We're driving back Sunday once the traffic dies down.
She promised to call me Sunday about the job offer.
UsageUsed with no on before it: see you Sunday, she'll call me Sunday.
3
fine clothesnouncolloquialbefore a noun
Of clothes or belongings, especially fine and elegant: the sort kept for wearing to church or for special occasions.
She wore her Sunday dress, the one saved for weddings and christenings.
The good Sunday china stayed locked in the cabinet most of the year.
UsageA common phrase is your Sunday best, meaning your finest clothes.
Note
Church clothes are the starting point here: a Sunday hat with blue satin ribbons, a good blue Sunday suit. From there the adjective stretches to anything kept for best. Emanuel Zeylmans's biography of his father, Willem Zeylmans van Emmichoven, gives a father his "Sunday voice," a special tone he also used for reading fairy tales.
4
newspapernouncolloquialcountable
A newspaper edition published on Sunday, usually thicker than the weekday issues.
The Sunday landed on the porch with a heavy thud.
He flips straight to the sports section of the Sunday.
UsageOften with the, and plural for that day's papers as a set: reading the Sundays.
Note
Newspaper talk that lets the day stand in for the whole phrase Sunday paper. It often travels in the plural with the: in John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), one character recalls going down to the Savoy for breakfast and reading the Sundays, meaning that day's papers as a set rather than any one title.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
John le Carré wrote Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, published in 1974. johnlecarre.com
A character recalls going to the Savoy for breakfast and reading 'the Sundays'. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

5
amateurnouncolloquialbefore a noun
Of a person, doing an activity only occasionally or as a hobby rather than professionally, often with a hint of limited skill.
As a Sunday painter, she never sold a canvas but loved every one.
Regular commuters grumble about Sunday drivers blocking the fast lane.
UsageCommon in Sunday driver and Sunday painter. It can sound dismissive.
Similaramateur
Oppositeprofessional
Note
Peter Everett's Matisse's War (1996) has Matisse ask aloud what a Sunday painter is, as if to reclaim the phrase: every painter starts as one. The hint of limited skill is strongest in Sunday driver, a slow, hesitant motorist.
6
comic stripnouncolloquialcountable
A comic strip appearing in a Sunday newspaper, typically printed in color and larger than the daily strips.
Collectors pay more for original Sundays than for the smaller daily strips.
The cartoonist saves her biggest jokes for the Sunday, where she has more room to draw.
Note
In the comic-strip trade the word pairs with dailies. Mark Arnold's Pocket Full of Dennis the Menace (2017) describes one artist who did "beautiful Sundays" before hiring someone else for them, while others did dailies and were "the Sunday artists." Like the newspaper itself, it is the day standing in for what is printed on it, and only context tells you whether a strip or a whole paper is meant.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Mark Arnold wrote Pocket Full of Dennis the Menace. en.wikipedia.org
Arnold's book describes an artist producing 'beautiful Sundays' and subsequently hiring someone to produce them. en.wiktionary.org
The passage also describes artists who produced some dailies but were 'the Sunday artists.' en.wiktionary.org
7
verbrare
To pass or spend Sunday at a particular place or in particular company.
The dogs and I were Sundaying on the garden lawn.
1944, Emily Carr, “Kipling”

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English Sonday, from Old English sunnandæg ("day of the sun"), combining sunne ("sun") and dæg ("day"). This was a Germanic translation of Latin diēs Sōlis, the "day of the sun," which Roman Emperor Constantine declared the venerable day of the sun in 321 C.E.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Sunday descends through Middle English Sonday from Old English sunnandæg. en.wiktionary.org
Old English sunnandæg combines the words for sun and day, literally meaning the sun's day. en.wiktionary.org
The Germanic name translates Latin diēs Sōlis, meaning day of the sun. en.wikipedia.org
Roman Emperor Constantine used the designation venerable day of the sun in his decree of 321 C.E. ccel.org