Editing Sardinia (section)

== Etymology ==
The name Sardinia has pre-Latin roots. It comes from the pre-Roman [[ethnonym]] *''s(a)rd-'', later [[Latinisation of names|romanised]] as {{lang|la|sardus}} (feminine {{lang|la|sarda}}). It makes its first appearance on the [[Nora Stone]], where the word ''ŠRDN'', or *''Šardana'', testifies to the name's existence when the [[Phoenicia]]n merchants first arrived.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archeologianuragica.blogspot.com/2010/08/sul-nome-sardigna.html|title=Archeologia Nuragica: Sul nome Sardigna|first=Archeologia|last=Nuragica|date=9 August 2010}}</ref>

According to ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'', one of [[Plato]]'s dialogues, Sardinia (referred to by most [[Ancient Greek literature|ancient Greek]] authors as {{Transliteration|grc|Sardṓ}}, {{lang|grc|Σαρδώ}}) and [[Sardinian people|its people]] as well might have been named after a legendary woman called Sardṓ ({{lang|grc|Σαρδώ}}), born in [[Sardis]] ([[wikt:Σάρδεις|Σάρδεις]]), capital of the ancient Kingdom of [[Lydia]].<ref>''Platonis dialogi, scholia in Timaeum'' (edit. C. F. Hermann, Lipsia 1877), 25 B, pag. 368</ref><ref>M. Pittau, ''La Lingua dei Sardi Nuragici e degli Etruschi'', Sassari 1981, pag. 57</ref> There has also been speculation that identifies the ancient [[Nuragic civilization|Nuragic]] Sards with the [[Sherden]], one of the [[Sea Peoples]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it//enciclopedia/sardi_(Dizionario-di-Storia)|title=sardi in "Dizionario di Storia"|website=www.treccani.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it//enciclopedia/sardi_res-c8fc02e8-8bb6-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)|title=SARDI in "Enciclopedia Italiana"|website=www.treccani.it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sardiniapost.it/culture/nuovo-studio-dellarcheologo-ugas-e-certo-i-nuragici-erano-gli-shardana/|title=ARCHIVIO. Nuovo studio dell'archeologo Ugas: "È certo, i nuragici erano gli Shardana"|date=3 February 2017|website=Sardiniapost}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardiniapoint.it/5085.html|title=SP INTERVISTA>GIOVANNI UGAS: SHARDANA|website=www.sardiniapoint.it|access-date=17 June 2010|archive-date=5 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405144452/http://www.sardiniapoint.it/5085.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sardiniapost.it/culture/la-certezza-degli-accademici-egiziani-gli-shardana-erano-i-nuragici-sardi/|title=La certezza degli accademici egiziani: "Gli shardana erano i nuragici sardi"|publisher=SardiniaPost|date=25 January 2019}}</ref> It is suggested that the name had a religious connotation from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-god [[Sardus|Sardus Pater]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aristeo.org/sardegnaemiti/personaggi/sardo.html|title=Personaggi - Sardo|website=www.aristeo.org|access-date=16 August 2016|archive-date=11 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211061836/http://www.aristeo.org/sardegnaemiti/personaggi/sardo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ("Sardinian Father"; a common explanation that the term means "Father of the Sardinians" is incorrect, as that would be "Sardorum Pater"), as well as being the stem of the adjective "[[Sardonicism|sardonic]]".

In [[classical antiquity]], Sardinia was called a number of names besides ''Sardṓ'' ({{lang|grc|Σαρδώ}}) or ''Sardinia'', like {{lang|la|Ichnusa}} (the Latinised form of the Greek {{lang|grc|Ἰχνοῦσσα}}),<ref>"[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DS%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Dsardinia-geo Sardinia]" in W. Smith, ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography]]''</ref> {{Transliteration|grc|Sandaliotis}} ({{lang|grc|Σανδαλιῶτις}}<ref>[[Hesychius of Miletus|Hesychius]]: Σανδαλιῶτις; ἡ Σαρδὼ πάλαι. ("Sandaliotis; [this is the name by which] Sardinia used to be called in ancient times".)</ref>) and {{Transliteration|grc|Argyrophleps}} ({{lang|grc|Αργυρόφλεψ}}).<ref name="Sardinian Toponymy">For the historical toponymy of ''Sardinia'', cf. {{cite journal |first1=Brenda Man Qing |last1=Ong |first2=Francesco Perono |last2=Cacciafoco |date=2022 |title=Unveiling the Enigmatic Origins of Sardinian Toponyms |journal=Languages |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=131: 1–19 |doi=10.3390/languages7020131 |doi-access=free |hdl=10356/159558 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>