Cathubodua Explained

Cathubodua (Celtic languages: Katu-bodwā, "battle crow") is the name of a Gaulish battle goddess.

Etymology

Cathubodua is the name of a Gaulish goddess derived from a single inscription at Mieussy in Haute Savoie, eastern France, which actually reads ATHVBODVAE AVG SERVILIA TERENTIA S L M.^[1] The text's restitution as Cathubodua depends on the assumptions that an initial C has been lost^[2] and that the personal names ATEBODVAE, ATEBODVVS and ATEBODVI in 3 other inscriptions in modern Austria and Slovenia^[3] are unrelated.

In the Gaulish language, the name Cathubodua is believed to mean battle-crow.^{[4] [5]} Etymological lexical forms reconstructed in the University of Wales' Proto-Celtic lexicon, suggest that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic *Katu-bodwā, a word that could be interpreted as ‘battle-fighting’.^{[6] [7]}

References

1. Book: The Ancient Irish Goddess of War . W. M. Hennessey . 1870 .
2. Pictet . Adolphe . 1868 . SUR UNE NOUVELLE DÉESSE GAULOISE DE LA GUERRE . Revue Archéologique . 18 . 1–17 . 41733071 . 0035-0737.
3. CIL III, 5247; CIL III, 4732; CIL III, 5386; http://edh-www.adw.uni-heidelberg.de/offen/suchen2.html?hdnr=039253
4. Book: Dottin, Georges . Georges Dottin . 1918 . La Langue Gauloise, Grammaire, Textes et Glossaire . Paris . Librairie C. Klincksieck . 235, 244 .
5. Web site: Cathubodua . L'Arbre Celtique . 13 May 2015 . 2015.
6. Web site: Proto-Celtic—English lexicon . . Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies . https://web.archive.org/web/20060202020346/http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf . 2 February 2006 . 16 . 12 June 2012 . 27 May 2005 . live .
7. Web site: Project 5: The Celtic Languages And Cultural Identity: A Multidisciplinary Synthesis . 22 December 2014 . 21 June 2019 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20070310203645/http://www.wales.ac.uk/newpages/EXTERNAL/E4504.asp . 10 March 2007 . live .