Editing Danu (Irish goddess) (section)

== Etymology ==
The hypothetical [[Nominative case|nominative]] form of the name, ''*Danu'', is not found in any [[Middle Irish|medieval Irish]] text, but is rather a reconstruction by modern scholars based on the [[genitive case|genitive]] ''Danann'' (also spelled ''Donand'' or ''Danand''), which is the only form attested in the primary sources (e.g. in the collective name of the Irish gods, ''[[Tuatha Dé Danann|Tuatha dé Danann]]'' "Tribe / People of Danu"). In Irish mythology, [[Anu (Irish goddess)|''Anu'']] (sometimes written as ''Anann'' or ''Anand'') is a goddess. She may be a distinct goddess in her own right<ref name=McKillop-1998>{{harvnb|MacKillop|1998|pp=10, 16, 128}}</ref> or an alternative name for Danu, in which case ''Danu'' could be a contraction of ''*di[a] Anu'' ("goddess Anu").{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} It may also be a confusion arising from Anu and the phrase ''na trí dée dána''.<ref name=":1">{{harvnb|MacLeod|1998|p=}}</ref>

The etymology of the name has been a matter of much debate since the 19th century, with some earlier scholars favoring a link with the [[Vedic]] water goddess [[Danu (Asura)|Danu]], whose name is derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] root ''*dʰenh₂-'' "to run, to flow", which may also lie behind the ancient name for the river [[Danube]], ''Danuuius'' – perhaps of Celtic origin, though it is also possible that it is an early [[Scythian language|Scythian]] loanword in Celtic.<ref>{{harvnb|Koch|2006|p=569}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

MacLeod connects Danu to the Old Irish word ''dán,'' which refers to an artistic skill. In early Ireland, artisans and other skilled workers were known as ''aes dánaˆ,'' or "people of skill."<ref name=":0" />

Linguist [[Eric Hamp]] rejects the traditional etymologies in his 2002 examination of the name ''Danu'', and proposes instead that ''*Danu'' is derived from the same root as [[Latin]] ''bonus'' ([[Old Latin]] ''duenos'') from Proto-Indo-European ''*dueno-'' "good", via a [[Proto-Celtic]] nominative singular n-stem ''*Duonū'' ("aristocrat").<ref>{{harvnb|Hamp|2002|pp=163-169}}</ref>