Editing Mainz (section)

==Names and etymology==
Although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the [[Main (river)|Main]], the name of Mainz is not from ''Main'', the similarity being perhaps reinforced by [[Folk etymology|folk-etymological]] reanalysis. ''Main'' is from Latin ''Moenis'' (also ''Moenus'' or ''Menus''), the name the Romans used for the river. [[Linguistics|Linguistic]] analysis of the many forms that the name "Mainz" has taken on make it clear that it is a simplification of ''Mogontiacum''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Roman Germany: a guide to sites and museums |first=Joachim |last=von Elbe |location=Mainz |publisher=P. von Zabern |year=1975 |page=253}}</ref> The name appears to be [[Celtic languages|Celtic]],<ref name="Spektrum der Wissenschaft-2011">{{cite web |title=Namenskunde: Den Kelten auf der Spur |website=Spektrum der Wissenschaft |date=13 January 2011 |url=https://www.spektrum.de/news/den-kelten-auf-der-spur/1060167 |language=de |access-date=30 January 2023 |archive-date=30 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130222451/https://www.spektrum.de/news/den-kelten-auf-der-spur/1060167 |url-status=live }}</ref> however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance.<ref name="Spektrum der Wissenschaft-2011" /> The Roman soldiers defending [[Gallia]] had adopted the Gallic god [[Mogons]] (Mogounus, Moguns, Mogonino), for the meaning of which etymology offers two basic options: "the great one", similar to Latin magnus, which was used in aggrandizing names such as ''Alexander magnus'', "Alexander the Great" and ''Pompeius magnus'', "Pompey the Great", or the god of "might" personified as it appears in young servitors of any type whether of noble or ignoble birth.{{Efn|A second hypothesis suggests that Moguns was a wealthy Celt whose estate was taken for the fort and that a tax district was formed on the area parallel to other tax districts with a -iacum suffix (Arenacum, Mannaricium). There is no evidence for this supposedly wealthy man or his estate, but there is plenty for the god. According to [[Carl Darling Buck]] in ''Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin'', -yo- and -k- are general Indo-European formative suffices and are not related to taxes. As the loyalty of the [[Vangiones]] was unquestioned and Drusus was campaigning over the Rhine, it is unlikely Mogontiacum would have been built to collect taxes from the Vangiones, who were not a Roman ''municipium''.}}

Mainz has a number of [[Names of European cities in different languages|different names]] in other languages and dialects. In [[Latin]] it is known as {{lang|la|Mogontiacum}} ({{IPA|la|mɔɡɔnˈti.akũː|pron}}) or {{lang|la|Moguntiacum}} and, in the local [[Hessian dialects|Hessian]] dialect, it is ''Määnz'' {{IPA|de|mɛːnt͡s||generic=yes}} or ''Meenz'' {{IPA|de|meːnt͡s||generic=yes}}. It is known as {{lang|fr|Mayence}} {{IPA|fr|majɑ̃s|}} in French, {{lang|it|Magonza}} {{IPA|it|maˈɡontsa|}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=DOP: Dizionario di Ortografia e Pronunzia della lingua italiana |url=https://www.dizionario.rai.it/p.aspx?nID=lemma&lID=1051515 |access-date=30 January 2023 |website=www.dizionario.rai.it |archive-date=23 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823055315/https://www.dizionario.rai.it/p.aspx?nID=lemma&lID=1051515 |url-status=live }}</ref> in Italian, {{lang|es|Maguncia}} {{IPA|es|maˈɣunθja|}} in Spanish, {{lang|pt|Mogúncia}} {{IPA|pt|muˈɣũsjɐ|}} in Portuguese, {{lang|pl|Moguncja}} {{IPA|pl|mɔˈɡunt͡sja|}} in Polish, {{transliteration|yi|Magentza}} ({{lang|yi|מגנצא}}) in Yiddish, and {{lang|cs|Mohuč}} in Czech and Slovak ({{IPA|cs|ˈmoɦutʃ}}).<ref name="EKI.ee">{{cite web |title=Query in the KNAB database. Foreign names |website=EKI.ee |url=http://www.eki.ee/cgi-bin/mkn8.cgi?form=mm&lang=en&kohanimi=96046353&f2v=Y&f3v=Y&nimeliik=&maakond=&vald=&kihelkond=&asum=&f10v=Y&f14v=Y&of=tb |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>

Before the 20th century, Mainz was commonly known in the [[Anglosphere]] either as ''Mentz'', its English version, or by its French version ''Mayence''. It is the namesake of two American cities named [[Mentz (disambiguation)|Mentz]].<ref name="Lokale Nachrichten aus Mainz und Rheinhessen-2022">{{cite web |title=Neue Heimat Amerika |website=Lokale Nachrichten aus Mainz und Rheinhessen |date=14 May 2022 |url=https://www.lokalezeitung.de/2022/05/14/neue-heimat-amerika/ |language=de |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>