It is a curious fact that the Germans often call the seventh day the Sabbath, and frequently without knowing this themselves.
For the English word Saturday (Anglo-Saxon, “Saterdag,” Saturn’s day), the Germans employ either „Samstag“ or „Sonnabend,“ of which two the former is most frequently employed, and especially so among the inhabitants of the southern part of Germany.
Just as we in English divide this language into Old, Middle, and Modern English, so we divide the German into Old, Middle, and New German. Now, in order to find out the original signification of the German word „Samstag,“ we need not trace it back any further than to the Middle German period, where we find it called “Samztac,” the literal meaning of which is no less than—Sabbath-day (German, „Sabbathstag“).
From the above, we may certainly conclude with safety that our German forefathers knew that the seventh day was the Sabbath, as they otherwise would not have been very likely to call it so. Now, to prove that the New German word „Samstag“ means Sabbath day, we have only to make a syllogism in its most simple form: „Samstag“ is derived from “Samztac” and signifies the same; “Samztac” signifies Sabbath day; hence Sabbath day is the true meaning of „Samstag.“