Editing Moon (section)

== Names and etymology ==
{{See also|Moon#Cultural representation}}

The English proper name for Earth's natural satellite is typically written as ''Moon'', with a capital ''M''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/naming/#spelling |title=Naming Astronomical Objects: Spelling of Names |publisher=[[International Astronomical Union]] |access-date=April 6, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216024716/http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/naming/#spelling |archive-date=December 16, 2008}}</ref><ref name="PN-FAQ" /> The noun ''moon'' is derived from [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|mōna}}, which stems from [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*mēnōn'',<ref>{{cite book |first=Vladimir |last=Orel |year=2003 |url=https://archive.org/details/Orel-AHandbookOfGermanicEtymology/mode/2up/search/moon |title=A Handbook of Germanic Etymology |publisher=Brill |access-date=March 5, 2020}}</ref> which in turn comes from [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''*mēnsis'' 'month'<ref>{{cite web |first=Fernando |last=López-Menchero |url=https://indo-european.info/dictionary-translator/word.inc.php/ine/m%c4%93nsis |title=Late Proto-Indo-European Etymological Lexicon |date=May 22, 2020 |access-date=July 30, 2022 |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522153418/https://indo-european.info/dictionary-translator/word.inc.php/ine/m%c4%93nsis |url-status=live}}</ref> (from earlier ''*mēnōt'', genitive ''*mēneses'') which may be related to the verb 'measure' (of time).<ref name="barnhart1995" />

Occasionally, the name ''Luna'' {{IPAc-en|'|l|uː|n|ə}} is used in scientific writing<ref>For example: {{cite book |first=James A. |last=Hall III |date=2016 |title=Moons of the Solar System |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-20636-3}}</ref> and especially in science fiction to distinguish the Earth's moon from others, while in poetry "Luna" has been used to denote personification of the Moon.<ref>{{OED|Luna}}</ref> ''Cynthia'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|n|θ|i|ə}} is a rare poetic name for the Moon personified as a goddess,<ref>{{OED|Cynthia}}</ref> while ''[[Selene]]'' {{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|l|iː|n|iː}} (literally 'Moon') is the Greek goddess of the Moon.

The English adjective pertaining to the Moon is ''lunar'', derived from the Latin word for the Moon, {{lang|la|lūna}}. ''Selenian'' {{IPAc-en|s|ə|l|iː|n|i|ə|n}}<ref>{{MW|selenian}}</ref> is an adjective used to describe the Moon as a world, rather than as a celestial object,<ref>{{OED|selenian}}</ref> but its use is rare. It is derived from {{lang|el|σελήνη}} {{tlit|el|selēnē}}, the Greek word for the Moon, and its cognate ''selenic'' was originally a rare synonym<ref>{{OED|selenic}}</ref> but now nearly always refers to the chemical element [[selenium]].<ref>{{MW|selenic}}</ref> The element name ''selenium'' and the prefix ''seleno-'' (as in ''[[selenography]]'', the study of the physical features of the Moon) come from this Greek word.<ref name="oed" /><ref>{{LSJ|selh/nh |σελήνη |ref}}.</ref>

[[Artemis]], the Greek goddess of the wilderness and the hunt, also came to be identified with Selene, and was sometimes called [[Cynthia]] after her birthplace on [[Mount Cynthus]].<ref name="Pannen2010">{{cite book |first=Imke |last=Pannen |title=When the Bad Bleeds: Mantic Elements in English Renaissance Revenge Tragedy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=37CPbHwqPjwC&pg=PA96 |year=2010 |publisher=V&R |isbn=978-3-89971-640-5 |page=96}}</ref> Her Roman equivalent is [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]. The names Luna, Cynthia, and Selene are reflected in technical terms for [[lunar orbit]]s such as ''apolune'', ''pericynthion'' and ''selenocentric''.

The [[astronomical symbols]] for the Moon are the crescent [[File:Moon crescent symbol (bold).svg|24px|☽|class=skin-invert]] and decrescent [[File:Moon decrescent symbol (bold).svg|24px|☾|class=skin-invert]], for example in ''M''<sub>☾</sub> 'lunar mass'.