Re: Gaelic and Sanskrit - and Nuada

> > There is no etymological connection between Net/Neit and
> Nuadu/Nodens.
>
> I have seen multiple authors such as Miranda Green and James
> MacKillop state otherwise. Have you come across any evidence why

such

> linguistic changes (such as Neit to Nod) are unlikely?

I have read both Green and MacKillop and never come across any such
identification (could have missed it, though). regardless, neither
Green nor MacKillop are linguists and their respective works are
replete with linguistic errors - especially MacKillop (his Dictionary
of Celtic Mythology, for example, regularly classes gaulish names as
Latin!).

I don't know where you are getting the word/name "Nod" from - do you
mean Nudd? There are no rules which would allow Irish Neit to become
Nod.

> As to stemming from *neud, I have seen that proposed. However as

with

> many aspects of PIE reconstruction, the matter seems open to some
> debate. The following is taken from some work I was doing comparing
> Nuada and Sax-not and possible etymologies:
>
> Linguistic option 1)
> "Not" from the Gmc. *neutan- was 'to profit from sth, make good use
> of sth' (hence 'enjoy', 'consume', etc.).
> And is connected with the root *neud- 'use, enjoy, possess', known
> from Germanic and Baltic

Yes - this is the same root that I mentioned.

> Linguistic option 2)
> The again, the name may instead stem from: *nedh/nodus.
> Taken directly from Dumezil's `Mitra-Varuna' pg 99:
> "from the root *nedh-, `to bind', which is also that of
> nodus, `knot', Sanskrit naddha-, `fastened', Irish naidim, `I bind'"
> The second edition of the American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-
> European Roots expresses the root as *ned to bind, tie. The O-grade
> form is *nod-. and is the root of such words as knot and net.

That's impossible, at least as far as Brittonic and Proto-Irish
*Noudonts is concerned - the name must come from a Proto-Indo-
European root containing the diphthong -eu-.

> Linguistic option 3)
> This is the possibility of the term stemming from some word
> meaning "to protect". Having checked out a few online dictionaries

I

> can say that the Welsh terms are accurate.
> At this point I cannot confirm nor deny the other tems involved
> (Irish nacht and Sanskrit nud- and nudati)

Also seems extremely unlikely to me given the differences in the
vowels.

- Chris Gwinn