Final answer:
The days of the week are named after celestial bodies and mythological gods, with Sunday, Monday, and Saturday being the most recognizable in English. Names in Latin-based languages reveal clearer connections to the planets and associated gods.
Step-by-step explanation:
The days of the week are a series of seven 24-hour periods that are used worldwide to structure time. The origin of their names in Western culture comes from astronomy and is associated with celestial bodies and gods from mythology. The seven 'wanderers' visible to the eye in ancient times, which include the Sun, the Moon, and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, have significantly influenced the naming of the days.
In English, for instance, the influence is obvious with Sun-day (Sunday), Moon-day (Monday), and Saturn-day (Saturday). Furthermore, in Latin-derived languages, the correlation with planets is even clearer. For example, Mercury is associated with Wednesday (mercoledi in Italian, mercredi in French, and miércoles in Spanish), Mars with Tuesday (martes in Spanish), Jupiter with Thursday (giovedi in Italian), and Venus with Friday (vendredi in French).