Editing Frigg (section)

==Name and origin==
{{Main|Frijjō}}

=== Etymology ===
The [[theonym]]s ''Frigg'' (Old Norse), ''Frīja'' ([[Old High German]]), ''Frīg'' ([[Old English]]), ''Frīa'' ([[Old Frisian]]), and ''Frī'' ([[Old Saxon]]) are [[cognate]]s (linguistic siblings from the same origin).{{Sfnp|de Vries|1962|p=143}}{{sfnp|Simek|2007|pp=93–94}}{{sfnp|Orel|2003|p=114}} They stem from the [[Proto-Germanic]] feminine noun ''*[[Frijjō]]'', which emerged as a [[substantivized]] form of the adjective [[Asterisk#Historical linguistics|*]]''frijaz'' ('free') via [[Holtzmann's law]].{{sfnp|Orel|2003|p=114}} In a clan-based societal system, the meaning 'free' arose from the meaning 'related'.{{sfnp|Kroonen|2013|p=155}} The name is indeed etymologically close to the [[Sanskrit]] ''priyā'' and the [[Avestan]] ''fryā'' ('own, dear, beloved'), all ultimately descending from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] stem *''priH-o-'', denoting 'one's own, beloved'. The Proto-Germanic verb ''*frijōnan'' ('to love'), as well as the nouns *''frijōndz'' ('friend') and *''frijađwō'' ('friendship, peace'), are also related.{{Sfnp|de Vries|1962|p=143}}{{sfnp|Orel|2003|p=114}}{{sfnp|Kroonen|2013|p=155}}

An [[Latin declension#First declension (a)|-a suffix]] has been sometimes applied by modern editors to denote femininity, resulting in the form ''Frigga''.<ref name="ASUFFIX">See for example {{harvp|Bulfinch|1913|p=344}}.</ref> This spelling also serves the purpose of distancing the goddess from the English word ''frig'', with a primary meaning of masturbate<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frig#|title=frig|date=3 October 2024|via=Wiktionary}}</ref>{{sfn|Sheard|2011|p=238}} or to the [[Frig (interjection)|common alternative]] to the English profanity ''fuck''. Several [[toponymy|place names]] refer to Frigg in what are now Norway and Sweden, although her name is altogether absent in recorded place names in Denmark.{{sfnp|Pulsiano|Wolf|1993|p=503}}

=== Origin of Frigg ===
The connection with and possible earlier identification of the goddess [[Freyja]] with Frigg in the [[Common Germanic deities|Proto-Germanic]] period is a matter of scholarly debate (see [[Frigg and Freyja common origin hypothesis]]).{{sfnp|Grundy|1998|pp=56–66}} Like the name of the group of gods to which Freyja belongs, the [[Vanir]], the name ''Freyja'' is not attested outside of [[Scandinavia]]. This is in contrast to the name of the goddess ''Frigg'', who is also attested as a goddess among West Germanic peoples. Evidence is lacking for the existence of a common Germanic goddess from which Old Norse ''Freyja'' descends, but scholars have commented that this may simply be due to the scarcity of surviving sources.{{sfnp|Grundy|1998|pp=56–66}}

Regarding the Freyja–Frigg common origin hypothesis, scholar [[Stephan Grundy]] writes that "the problem of whether Frigg or Freyja may have been a single goddess originally is a difficult one, made more so by the scantiness of pre-[[Viking Age]] references to [[List of Germanic deities and heroes|Germanic goddesses]], and the diverse quality of the sources. The best that can be done is to survey the arguments for and against their identity, and to see how well each can be supported."{{sfnp|Grundy|1998|p=57}}

=== Origin of ''Friday'' ===
The English weekday name ''[[Friday]]'' comes from Old English ''Frīġedæġ'', meaning 'day of Frig'. It is cognate with Old Frisian ''Frīadei'' (≈ ''Fri(g)endei''), [[Middle Dutch]] ''Vridach'' (≈ ''Vriendach''), [[Middle Low German]] ''Vrīdach'' (≈ ''Vrīgedach''), and [[Old High German]] ''Frîatac''. The Old Norse ''Frjádagr'' was borrowed from a West Germanic language. All of these terms derive from Late Proto-Germanic *''Frijjōdag'' ('Day of Frijjō'), a [[calque]] of Latin ''Veneris dies'' ('Day of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]'; cf. modern Italian ''venerdì'', French ''vendredi'', Spanish ''viernes'').{{sfnp|Simek|2007|pp=93–94}}<ref name=":0">[[Oxford English Dictionary Online]], s.v. ''Friday, n. and adv.''</ref>

The Germanic goddess' name has substituted for the Roman name of a comparable deity, a practice known as ''[[interpretatio germanica]]''. Although the Old English theonym ''Frīg'' is only found in the name of the weekday, it is also attested as a common noun in ''frīg'' ('love, affections [plural], embraces [in poetry]'). The Old Norse weekday ''Freyjudagr'', a rare synonym of ''Frjádagr'', saw the replacement of the first element with the genitive of ''Freyja''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>attested in the [[Breta sögur]]: Johan Fritzner: ''Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. Omarbeidet, forøget og forbedret udgave''. Volume 1 (1886) page 486 ([https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=TewYAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA486&hl=en_GB online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505011629/https://books.google.com/books?id=TewYAAAAYAAJ&pg=486 |date=5 May 2023 }} at Google Books).</ref>