Danu
[ˈdæn.uː]Meaning
Old Irish figure in the Tuatha Dé Danann; a Scythian word meaning "river"
Background Story
Danu is a learned borrowing into English from Old Irish, from a reconstructed nominative form of the genitive Danann, which is attested in the term Tuatha Dé Danann, usually translated "tribe of Danu" and used as a collective name for certain Irish gods. That etymology is controversial and has been debated since the 19th century, and some scholars identify Danu with the goddess Anu, perhaps as a contraction of día Anu, "goddess Anu". Danu is also an ancient Scythian word meaning "river", and the commonly proposed etymology of the names of the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Don and Donets. English also borrows Danu from Burmese ဓနု (dha.nu.) as a plural noun.
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