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Sonnabend is the day before Sunday, also known as Saturday.

Sonnabendabend then is Saturday evening (although it could have meant Friday!), as confirmed by Wiktionary and Duden.

I've seen Sonnabend in actual use, but Sonnabendabend to me sounds... funny. Is this word in active use in serious contexts, or does the word also sound funny and would it rather be used in a slightly jocular context only?

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    That's why you should use "Samstagabend". :) – Frank from Frankfurt Feb 13 '19 at 15:54
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    @FrankfromFrankfurt Well, I would use Samstag anyway, the first time I saw Sonnabend I thought it was short for Sonntag Abend or at best the evening before Sonntag, rather than the full day of Saturday… – gerrit Feb 13 '19 at 15:56
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    Und Übermorgenmorgen fragen wir nach Übermorgenmorgen? Sonnabendabend kann m.E. übrigens nicht Freitag bedeuten; man sagt auch nicht 1.-Maiabend um den 30. April zu bezeichnen. Außer Sonnabend fällt mir allenfalls Heiligabend als ähnliche Konstruktion ein. – user unknown Feb 13 '19 at 16:20
  • Der Tag nach Übermorgen heißt aber Überübermorgen – Volker Landgraf Feb 15 '19 at 9:12
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Sonnabend is only used in parts of Germany, but where it is used, Sonnabendabend is indeed an unremarkable word. Only in writing it is a bit hard to parse.

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    Because of that it's often written as "Sonnabend Abend" or "Sonnabend-Abend" for better legibility. – mtwde Feb 13 '19 at 16:29
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    @mtwde, I think the first is officially wrong. – Carsten S Feb 13 '19 at 16:33
  • You are right! At least since 1996s Rechtschreibreform the first one is officially wrong. But you will find it in a lot of older books. I should have mentioned it. – mtwde Feb 13 '19 at 16:50
  • @mtwde, don't worry, for cases in which I really want to know what the old rules prescribed, I have an old Duden lying around ;) – Carsten S Feb 13 '19 at 17:25
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    Sonnabendabend is perfectly normal in eastern Germany, the usual pronunciation is [zona:mt aːbn̩t] – Stef Feb 13 '19 at 21:09

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