Editing Nodens (section)

==Name and origin==
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The theonym *''Nodens'' or *''Nodons'' is [[Linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] from the attested dative singular ''Nodenti'' or ''Nodonti'', which is derived from a [[Proto-Celtic]] stem ''*Nowdont-.'' It is a [[cognates|cognate]] (linguistic sibling from the same origin) of the [[Middle Irish]] ''[[Nuada Airgetlám|Nuadu]]'' and the [[Middle Welsh]] ''Nudd'' (which turned into [[Lludd Llaw Eraint|''Lludd'']], apparently from an alliterative assimilation).{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}}<ref name="MacKillop_Nodons" />{{sfn|Matasović|2009|p=350}} The Irish genitives ''nodot'' and ''núada(i)t'' (perhaps 'hand, wrist or arm')<ref>[[eDIL]], s.v. ''? núada(i)t,'' [http://www.dil.ie/33330 dil.ie/33330].</ref> also appear to be related.{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}}{{Sfn|Wagner|1986|pp=180–181}} It suggests that ''Nōdonti'' was the original form, by showing the back vocalism of the Celtic suffix ''-ont''-. The development from ''-ō-'' to ''-ū-'' in [[Brittonic languages]] dates back to the end of the 3rd century AD.{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}} An [[Old Breton]] name ''Nodent'' (modern ''Nuz'') may also be added to the cognates, although the vocalism raises phonological difficulties.{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=13–14}}{{Sfn|Sterckx|1994|p=40}}

The origin of the name remains obscure, scholar [[John Carey (Celticist)|John Carey]] noting that "it seems at any rate safe to say that no etymology so far proposed can be accepted with full confidence".{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}} The Welsh noun ''nudd'' means 'mist, haze, fog', and both ''Lludd'' and ''Nuadu'' are attached to the epithet '[of the] silver hand/arm', which could lead to a conjectural Proto-Celtic stem *''snowdo-'' ('mist, haze'), from [[Proto-Indo-European]] *''snewd<sup>h</sup>''- ('mist, cloud'; cf. Latin ''nūbēs'' 'clouds'),{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Matasović|2009|p=350}}  perhaps also attested in the Irish ''snuad'' ('appearance, colour').{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}} However, the sound shift ''sn''- > ''n''- does not seem to be attested elsewhere in [[Gaulish]] (although -''sn''- > -''n''- is known) and remains difficult to justify in [[Proto-Brittonic]] (the sound change should have occurred later than the inscriptions).{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}} Scholars have also linked the Celtic names with the stem *''néud-'' (cf. Gothic ''niutan'' 'to catch, attain, acquire' and ''nuta'' 'catcher, fisherman', Lithuanian ''naudà'' 'property'), associating ''*Nowdont-'' with the fishing (and possibly hunting) motifs of the Lydney remains and with the silver arms of Nuadu and Lludd.{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}}{{Sfn|Wagner|1986|pp=180–181}} However, this stem remains unattested elsewhere in Celtic, and possibly takes its origins from a [[pre-Indo-European language]].{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=2–3}}{{Sfn|Wagner|1986|p=186}} A third alternative is the Proto-Indo-European stem *''neh<sub>2</sub>u''-''t-'' (cf. Goth. ''nauþs'' 'need, compulsion, distress', Old Prussian ''nautin'' 'need'), which could be found in Proto-Celtic *''nāwito''- ('need'; cf. Old Irish ''neóit'', Middle Welsh ''neued''), although linguist [[Ranko Matasović]] finds the relation "formally quite difficult" to explain.{{sfn|Matasović|2009|p=350}}

Nudd's son [[Gwyn ap Nudd|''Gwyn'']] (ruler of the Welsh [[Otherworld]]), his name meaning 'white', is an exact cognate of the Irish name ''Finn'', who is described as the great-grandson of Nuadu mac Achi ([[Finn mac Umaill]]) or [[Nuadu Necht]] (Finn File).{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=6–7}} Although the origin of the association remains difficult to explain, Carey writes that Nodons may be seen "a god of multi-faceted but consistent character: a shining royal warrior presiding over the chaotic in nature, society and the Otherworld (water, war, the devils of [[Annwn]])."{{Sfn|Carey|1984|pp=21–22}} In this view, the Middle Irish ''núada'', ''núadu'' ('hero, champion, king [poetic]?')<ref>[[eDIL]], s.v. ''núada, ? núadu,'' [http://www.dil.ie/33328 dil.ie/33328].</ref> may be interpreted as the [[Euhemerism|euhemerized]] name of the Celtic deity,{{sfn|Matasović|2009|p=350}}  with a [[semantic shift]] comparable to that conjectured for [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*balþaz'' > ''*Balðraz'' ('white, shining' > 'strong, brave, bold' > 'hero, prince'; cf. Old Norse ''[[Baldr]]'' 'brave, defiant, lord, prince' and Old English ''Bældæg'' 'shining day').{{Sfn|Simek|1996|p=26}}{{Sfn|Orel|2003|pp=33–34}}

According to [[Arthur Bernard Cook]] (1906) the [[toponym]] "[[Lydney]]" derives from the Old English *''Lydan-eġ'', "[[Lludd]]'s Island", which could connect it with Nodens.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cook |first=Arthur Bernard |date=25 March 1906 |title=IV. The Celts |series=The European sky-god |journal=Folklore |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=27–71|doi=10.1080/0015587X.1906.9719720 }}</ref> However, alternative etymologies of Lydney are offered in other sources. A. D. Mills suggests "island or river-meadow of the sailor, or of a man named *Lida", citing the forms "Lideneg" from c. 853 and "Ledenei" from the 1086 [[Domesday Book]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mills |first=A. D. |title=A Dictionary of English Place-Names |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford |isbn=0192831313 |page=218}}</ref>